Daily News

Coinbase Makes a Big Blunder – Several US Coinbase users have received mail from the IRS (the US tax authorities) claiming several thousand dollars on cryptocurrency gains. Small problem! Users never realized the affected gains.

127,000 dollars in taxes and penalties for … non-existent winnings

The information was relayed by The News Spy review, a service specializing in calculating the taxation of cryptocurrencies in the United States.

As an example, John Smith (assumed name to protect user anonymity) received a letter from the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) notifying him that he had under-reported his income in 2018 „Due to the failure to include its cryptocurrency investment activity“ . In total, he would be asked to pay some $ 120,960 in taxes and penalties.

Mail received by the user – Source: Cryptotrader

Yet it would appear that this claim is totally unfounded. As Cryptotrader points out, it was actually the IRS that owed Smith money, as he had suffered $ 2,000 in cryptocurrency losses that year.

The case of John Smith is not isolated, because in the space of 2 days, Cryptotrader was contacted by dozens of Internet users who received similar emails.

Whose fault is it ?

Also according to Cryptotarder, it seems that exchange platforms , such as Coinbase , are at the origin of this misunderstanding of several hundred thousand dollars .

In fact, these exchange platforms would communicate information about their users via form 1099-K instead of using 1099 or 1099-B, which would be appropriate for their business.

“The 1099-K was never intended as a tax return form for cryptocurrency exchanges. It was designed to report income from platforms where you get paid directly by third-party merchants, like Uber, Lyft, and Etsy. The form does not make sense in the context of cryptocurrency exchanges. And yet, many large exchanges, like Coinbase, have decided to use Form 1099 to report customer income information. „

The IMDEA Software Institute in Spain is looking for a Blockchain specialist to carry out a scalability project in Lightning Network for an initial period of six months.

The IMDEA Software Institute in Madrid, Spain has a vacancy available for an intern position in the area of security and privacy in block chain, in the context of the project SLN: Scalability in Lightning Network that will be performed for an initial period of six months. This is detailed on their website, in the job offers section.

Those interested must have completed (or be close to completing) a Master’s degree in computer science. The publication of the Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies (IMDEA) also details that experience in cryptography, distributed systems or blockchain technology will be valued.

The IMDEA Software Institute has three fundamental objectives: to carry out research of excellence in science and technology for the development of software, to promote the transfer of technology to the industrial fabric to improve competitiveness, and to attract talented researchers from all over the world to work in an international environment at the level of the best world institutions in the same field.

IMDEA Software Institute’s research also focuses on three main areas Program analysis and verification; programming languages and compilers; and, computer security and privacy.

The main objective of the IMDEA Institute is to carry out research of excellence for the construction of methods that allow the efficient development of software products with sophisticated functionality and high quality, that is, safe, reliable and efficient. To achieve this goal, the Institute is recruiting a critical mass of world-class scientists and providing them with an ideal research environment.

he Institute’s focus includes all phases of software development (analysis, design, implementation, validation and verification), as well as methodologies, languages and tools. The main characteristic is the use of techniques that are both rigorous and allow the construction of practical tools.

IMDEA jobs are in Madrid, Spain

However, the jobs are based in Madrid, Spain, where the IMDEA Software Institute is located. As for salaries, IMDEA ensures that they are internationally competitive and include attractive conditions such as access to an excellent public health system.

The offer also specifies that the working language at the institute is English, so knowledge of Spanish is not essential or required.

Duration of contract

As for the extension of the vacancy, the institute noted that the position is financed for six months. They also added that there is a possibility of staying on afterwards as a doctoral student. The preferred starting date is early next year, i.e. by 2021.

How to apply?

Regarding the parameters for applying for the position, the publication details that interested applicants should submit their application for the vacancy using the reference code 2020-10-intern-blockchain. The deadline for applications is 30 November 2020. And, the review of applications will start immediately.

The institute intends to continue its research into computer security and privacy. It develops technologies that enable computing, communication and data storage in untrustworthy and malicious environments such as the Internet and the cloud. Its results include novel cryptographic protocols, as well as innovative techniques for detecting and analysing malicious behaviour and vulnerabilities in software, distributed systems and network traffic.