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We ask the buidlers in the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector for their thoughts on the industry\u2026 and throw in a few random zingers to keep them on their toes!<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n This week, <\/b>our 6 Questions go to Michelle Legge, head of crypto tax education at Koinly \u2014 a cryptocurrency tax calculator and portfolio tracker for traders, investors and accountants.<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Alongside her work at Koinly, Michelle is passionate about closing the financial literacy gap for women. Before crossing into the crypto space, she looked after consumer education for an Australian fintech startup, where she launched a world-first gender-pay-gap insurance product.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Today, Michelle is back in her homeland of South Africa, living the digital nomad life and managing a remote team of content and social media wizards from plant-based cafes across Cape Town. As for her crypto curiosity, Michelle is cautiously optimistic, betting on altcoins with unconventional use cases. Blame it on her day job, but while Michelle knows that crypto is the future, crypto tax appears to be the dark side of the moon. Helping crypto investors to be tax-strategic seems a worthy cause in light of ever-tightening regulations.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Projects that attract the warm embrace of Joe Public are the ones that stick. We\u2019ve gotten a lot closer to a retail use case with DeFi\u2019s many yield farming products, and that shows no signs of slowing down. But will it go fully mainstream? Possibly, in time \u2014 provided the space doesn\u2019t get taxed into oblivion. On the other hand, NFTs have seen massive adoption from all walks of life, creating a sense that this blockchain use case has cracked a very tough nut.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While the NFT arena might be dominated by the glitz and glam of the celebrity art scene today, I imagine NFTs will come into their own in a rather mundane way. If the public can interface with \u201cthe blockchain\u201d via pictures, then it\u2019s logical to assume that anything we\u2019re used to seeing on paper will go the way of a digitized, ownable NFT. What could this look like at the most basic level? Share certificates, graduation diplomas, medical records, insurance policies, birth certificates, passports, etc.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The creation, distribution and management of proof-of-ownership NFT administration could spawn an industry of its own, much like it already has in the gaming industry. However, for NFTs to work like this, we need to remember that the NFT art we\u2019re just getting our heads around is a taxable asset. That\u2019s fine when we\u2019re thinking about art, music, movies and domain names, but no one wants to face a tax bill for erroneously \u201cprofiting\u201d from the \u201cdisposal\u201d of a health insurance policy. It will need to be clear to all, the taxman included, that NFTs used in this way have a zero-dollar value.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n It pains me to say, but central bank digital currencies are waiting in the wings. Everything we\u2019ve seen, from Biden\u2019s executive order to the much-hyped inflation curse throttling the global economy, tells us that governments are hungry for CBDCs. Even without the regulation headlines, we need only consider the power and control that CBDCs offer. Rishi Sunak\u2019s Britcoin appears in the works, with disturbing undercurrents of programmability \u2014 leaning into the likes of China\u2019s social credit system. CBDCs will be, but unlike the disruptive and empowering future presented by Bitcoin and friends, CBDCs seem a different blockchain beast altogether.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Don\u2019t call me negative, but I work in crypto tax. It\u2019s my opinion that the bulk of the Bitcoin \u201cmooning\u201d happened behind the curtains, in the good old days when governments and tax agencies were none the wiser. Can stratospheric growth happen under the iron fist of rampant regulations and scrutiny? I fear not.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n A talent so hidden it might not even exist? I guess I don\u2019t have \u201cbedroom DJ\u201d in my Twitter bio for nothing, but if being good at Spotify playlists makes me gifted, then so be it. \u201cLe Crush\u201d is the name of my pet <\/span>playlist<\/span><\/a>, and a homage to my heady nights (perhaps seven in total?) steering the decks in Melbourne\u2019s noughties club scene.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Is it because women are coded for multitasking, or because we live in a high-octane, caffeine-fuelled society? Either way, the talent I lack is the laser-beam focus of a border collie and its tennis ball.<\/span><\/p>\n If focus is the house, then the foundation is Buffett\u2019s famous \u201cSay no to almost everything.\u201d The key, it would appear, is to limit open tabs to five max \u2014 a great step down from the 39 currently calling my attention. Hyperfocus in a crazy world? I think it\u2019s a talent, or rather a superpower, that most of us wish for.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n This question \u2014 and its loaded gun \u2014 is just the kind of thing to get a woman canceled! The fact is, I\u2019m rather a reasonable conspiracy theorist, but there\u2019s a spot for a tinfoil hat in my closet, nonetheless.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I think, like many people drawn to cryptocurrency, our sort comes bearing gifts of distrust \u2014 and who could blame us? Some of the rabbit hole\u2019s biggest targets \u2014 let\u2019s mention Big Pharma here \u2014 do have priors. It\u2019s right to question everything, and it\u2019s good to remember that no chapter on WWII is complete without an entry on the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. I will say this though: A flat earth could be a great solution to the rising tides, right?<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n1 \u2014 From smart contracts to DApps, NFTs and DeFi, we have seen so many of the next \u201ckiller apps\u201d for crypto, but none have really taken off quite yet. What will stick?<\/h4>\n
2 \u2014 If the world is getting a new currency, will it be led by CBDCs, a permissionless blockchain like Bitcoin, or a permissioned chain such as Diem?<\/h4>\n
3 \u2014 Which is sillier: $500,000 Bitcoin or $0 Bitcoin? Why?<\/h4>\n
4 \u2014 Tell us about a hidden talent, and give us a link to prove it!<\/h4>\n
5 \u2014 What talent do you lack and wish you had? How would you use it if you had it?<\/h4>\n
6 \u2014 What\u2019s the silliest conspiracy theory out there\u2026 and which one makes you pause for a moment?<\/h4>\n
A wish for the young, ambitious blockchain community:<\/h4>\n