The IRS recently issued guidance on the way that bitcoin news will be treated by it, and another stateless rival that was electronic. The brief answer: as property, not currency. Bitcoin, in addition to other virtual currencies which can be changed for legal tender, will be treated as a capital asset in many instances, and in several situations as stock. Bitcoin holders that aren't dealers will soon be subject to capital gains tax on increases in value. Bitcoin "miners," who unlock the currency's algorithms, will need to report their finds as income, just as other miners do when pulling more conventional resources.