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Stack Finance

Crypto Tax Implications

We all wish we could dodge the IRS, but even with crypto, taxes on capital gains are unavoidable.

Just like stocks, any profit from your crypto investments is taxable. Selling crypto, swapping coins, or spending it (like buying a coffee with BTC) counts as a taxable event.

The tax rate depends on how long you held the crypto: under a year, it’s short-term capital gains (10–37%, like your regular income); over a year, it’s long-term (0–20%, usually lower). That’s why, personally I always hold onto my crypto for over a year.

Tools like CoinTracker and Koinly help keep the IRS off your ass by tracking every crypto transaction for you. Connect your wallets and exchanges to automatically calculate your cost basis (what you paid for your crypto) and gains.

For example, if you buy $200 of Ethereum and sell it for $300 after a year, you owe taxes on that $100 profit—CoinTracker whips up a CPA-ready report in minutes. Save receipts for fees (like Ethereum gas fees) to deduct and cut your tax bill.

Make sure you are actually tracking your crypto—the IRS is all over crypto nowadays, so get organized now to avoid tax-time stress.

Stack Toolbox

Crypto Price Alert Apps

THe number one app I click on in my phone has defientely got to be my CoinGecko/Yahoo finance app. These 2 apps track prices of my crypto and stocks and are extremely useful when it comes to planning and actually buying crypto/stocks

CoinGecko
CoinGecko is specifically for crypto, but is all around a solid app to track crypto on. You can track over 10,000 coins across 300+ exchanges with free price alerts via push notifications. Clean interface with market news, but you need an account to save alerts, and it may lag during wild market spikes. Great for spotting deals before buying on the blockchain

Yahoo Finance!
Yahoo Finance covers crypto, stocks, and more, with free price alerts and a simple interface for tracking market trends. Less crypto-specific than CoinGecko, but great for beginners mixing crypto with traditional investments

Both are great choices just depends what you are looking for.

Stack Start

Buying Your First Crypto: Step-by-Step

I realized I haven’t covered this yet, and figured it’d be super useful for you guys—buying crypto can feel tricky at first, especially if you’ve never touched crypto or stocks on an exchange

Here is a simple step-by-step:

• Pick an Exchange: Choose a trusted platform like Coinbase, Kraken, or Gemini to buy crypto safely

  • Sign up with an email, verify your ID (like a driver’s license), and set up two-factor authentication (2FA) with an app like Google Authenticator for security.
    

• Deposit Cash: Link your bank account or debit card to fund your exchange account.

  • Bank transfers are cheaper (free on Kraken, low fees on Coinbase), but debit cards add 3–4% fees, so stick to ACH transfers if you can.
    

• Choose a Crypto: Start with Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) for simplicity—they’re the big dogs with less risk.

  • Check prices on your exchange’s dashboard and use CoinGecko (see Stack Toolbox) for market trends and check X for people opinions on a good time to buy or not
    

• Place a Buy Order: Select your crypto, enter the amount (e.g., $50 of BTC), and choose a “market” order for the current price.
  

• STORE IT SAFELY: Move your crypto to a personal wallet (see Stack Assets for cold wallets) to avoid exchange risks like hacks.

  • Don’t leave it on the exchange—remember “not your keys, not your crypto”!

Voilà, you now are invested in the crypto market! One step closer to financial freedom

Stack Assets

One of the best comparisons I have heard about leaving crypto on an exchange is similar to leaving cash in a public locker. Not a good idea!

I have spoken about hot wallets in previous newsletter articles, but I wanted to touch on cold wallets which are different from hot wallets for a few reasons.

• Software vs. Hardware: Hot wallets (like Trust Wallet) are online apps, handy for quick access but riskier due to potential hacks. Cold wallets, like USB-style devices, offer strong security with a bit more setup involved.
  

• Online vs. Offline: Hot wallets stay online, making trades a breeze but open to phishing risks. Cold wallets keep your crypto offline, safeguarding it from digital threats with minimal hassle.
  

• Control vs. Convenience: Hot wallets provide easy access through apps, though you rely on third-party platforms for your keys. Cold wallets give you full ownership, needing only a device to manage securely.

If there’s one piece of advice you take from this article, let it be this: Do not buy cold wallets from anywhere but the manufacturer’s official website.

DO NOT buy your cold wallets on Amazon or eBay.

Scammers can tamper with devices, preloading malicious firmware to steal your crypto later. In 2023 a Reddit post described a user who bought a Ledger from eBay, only to lose their Bitcoin when a pre-installed seed phrase was used to drain their wallet.

Another thing to watch out for: NEVER use a pre-generated seed phrase included with the device. Legit cold wallets require you to set up your own seed phrase during initialization; pre-loaded ones are a scam to swipe your funds.

Click the links below which are direct links to the manufacturers websites.

Ledger - click here
Trezor - click here
Tangem - click here

To play it safe, as I would, search for Ledger, Trezor, or Tangem cold wallets yourself, but please, only buy directly from their official websites to avoid scams

Stack Crypto

The mystery of Satoshi Nakamoto

Who the heck is Satoshi Nakamoto?

This is still the single biggest mystery in crypto. Satoshi is an unknown person (or group) who created Bitcoin in 2008, dropping a whitepaper that created a decentralized currency free from banks or governments.

Satoshi mined Bitcoin’s first block in 2009, posted cryptic messages on forums, and then poof—vanished by 2011, leaving behind an estimated 600,000–1.1 million BTC across thousands of wallets, potentially worth $100 billion today

So the question (and money) remains; who is Satoshi Nakamoto? A lone coder, a group of people, a government agency, Putin? Is he alive? Is he dead? Theories point to names like Hal Finney or Nick Szabo, but a 2024 HBO documentary claiming Peter Todd as Satoshi was widely debunked on X.

Why stay hidden? Maybe to keep Bitcoin’s ethos pure or dodge legal heat. Adding to the mystery, old wallets from 2010, possibly linked to Satoshi, are waking up. In June 2025, a dormant wallet moved 50 BTC ($3.5M) after 15 years, and in May, another shifted 687 BTC ($43.9M). Everybody is keeping their eye on his most famous address, the Genesis block’s 1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa, holds ~100 BTC. If that moves there will be alot of eyes on it and where it goes.

We may never unmask Satoshi, but it’s one of the 21st century’s wildest mysteries.

I’m betting a government agency cooked up Bitcoin as a hedge against fiat currency’s collapse

Let me know who you think Satoshi Nakamoto is

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