> there is nothing here that tells me whether my ultra rare skin that I received
> that I could sell my account for $100 on eBay applies or not.
You're looking at this entirely the wrong way. There's no new law here: the reason you don't see the guidance you are looking for is that from a tax perspective there is not any difference between bitcoin and a rare game skin. They are both personal property and if a US citizen sells them at a gain they are liable for capital gains tax. [1]
> Almost everything you own and use for personal or investment purposes is a
> capital asset. Examples include a home, personal-use items like household
> furnishings, and stocks or bonds held as investments. When you sell a capital
> asset, the difference between the adjusted basis in the asset and the amount
> you realized from the sale is a capital gain or a capital loss.
The question is on form 1040 for two reasons:
1) As a heads up to people that may not have realized that crypto gains are taxable.
2) To force you to lie if you want to conceal gains, so you can't claim ignorance later.
A $100 gain on a skin that you sell on ebay (less your cost basis, however that might be computed) has _always_ been a taxable event and the failure to declare it is minor tax evasion of the type that literally everyone is guilty of. But the IRS doesn't particularly care about small beer like that. The crypto question is there because for some people there's serious money involved.
(IANAL, but if you have any question at all about this a CPA or tax attorney is well worth the cost)
I think the more subtle question is about assets you got via a prize. For example if you win a real-world lottery, you have to pay taxes on the winnings. If you win a crypto lottery, you have to pay taxes on the winnings (at the time of winning, not at the time of cash out!). If you "win" a loot-crate lottery, do you have to pay taxes on your winnings? And afact the answer is no, because the loot crate thing isn't an asset, it's treated more like a consumable good. On the other hand, I can see the argument that in fact it's an illiquid asset (like pre-IPO stock) and so you need to pay taxes on the income immediately.
On the off chance you later sell your account, you should pay taxes on that income and it mostly comes out in a wash, unless the value of the lootbox item has changed significantly (because no one plays fortnite anymore)
1) As a heads up to people that may not have realized that crypto gains are taxable.
2) To force you to lie if you want to conceal gains, so you can't claim ignorance later.
A $100 gain on a skin that you sell on ebay (less your cost basis, however that might be computed) has _always_ been a taxable event and the failure to declare it is minor tax evasion of the type that literally everyone is guilty of. But the IRS doesn't particularly care about small beer like that. The crypto question is there because for some people there's serious money involved.
(IANAL, but if you have any question at all about this a CPA or tax attorney is well worth the cost)
[1] https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc409