Michael Saylor, MicroStrategy to pay $40m in tax evasion settlement

MicroStrategy
CEO
and
Bitcoin
supporter
Michael
Saylor
has
agreed
to
the
largest
income
tax
settlement
deal
in
Washington
D.C.’s
history. 

According
to
The
Washington
Post,
Bitcoin
(BTC)
advocator
Michael
Saylor
and
his
software
company
MicroStrategy
reached
a
$40
million
payment
package
with
the
state
to
settle
a
tax
evasion
lawsuit. 

Attorney
General
Brian
L.
Schwalb’s
case

revolved
around
Saylor’s
residency
and
tax
returns
between
2005
and
2021. While
Saylor
claimed
he
lived
in
Florida,
city
attorneys
had
reason
to
believe
he
lived
in
a
luxury
apartment
and
on
yachts
within
the
District
of
Columbia’s
jurisdiction. 

Both
MicroStraegy
and
Saylor
denied
tax
evasion
violations
per
the
terms
of
the
settlement
deal. 

Michael
Saylor’s
Ether
ETF
prediction
nullified

Saylor’s
tax
debacle
in
the
Capital
follows
disputed
assertions
by
the
enigmatic
Bitcoin
believers.
Early
last
month,
MicroStrategy’s
founder

told
an
audience
that
the
U.S.
SEC
would
deny
spot
Ethereum
(ETH)
ETFs.

Saylor’s
reasoning
for
the
statement
stemmed
from
unclarity
around
the
securities
status
of
cryptocurrencies.
However,
in
the
CEO’s
words,
altcoins
like
Cardano
(ADA),
Ethereum,
and
Solana
(SOL)
are
all
unregistered
crypto
asset
securities.
The
argument
echoed
rhetoric
from
SEC
Chair
Gary
Gensler. 

Although

Gensler
has
refrained
from
making
such
a
categorical
statement,
the
commissioner
is
adamant
that
most
cryptocurrencies
fall
under
existing
financial
laws,
and
digital
asset
service
providers
operate
illegal
businesses
should
they
fail
to
register
with
the
regulator. 

Weeks
after
Saylor’s
stance
on
stage,
the
SEC
announced
the
first
stage
of
spot

ETH
ETF
approvals.
Due
to
what
experts
have
termed
“shifting
political
tailwinds,”
the
Ether-backed
products
look
likely
to
trade
on
national
exchanges
before
the
year’s
fourth
quarter. 

Analysts
like
Bloomberg’s

Eric
Balchunas
and
James
Seyffart
did
note
issuers
withdrew
all
staking
language
from
updated
filings,
and
S-1
forms
remain
under
review. 

The
updates
have
fueled
speculation
over
the
regulator’s
view
on
Ethereum
as
a
blockchain
running
under
the
proof-of-stake
consensus
model
and
whether
the
SEC
will
ever
recognize
crypto
staking
as
a
non-security
instrument.