Digital Assets and Barter Transactions: The Hidden Crypto Trading Tax

The Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) defines a “barter transaction” as the reciprocal exchange of goods or services without the use of government-issued currency. Payments for goods or services made with cryptocurrency are generally treated as barter transactions by the CRA. This treatment has important tax consequences for individuals and businesses that utilize cryptocurrency.
One Hat Too Many: Risks of Overlapping Roles in Family Trusts

A trust is an important estate planning tool which helps control the succession of your assets, provides asset protection and if properly constituted can provide tax benefits. Ontario law does not expressly prohibit the same individual acting as settlor, trustee, and/or beneficiary in the same trust.
Digital Asset Tax Planning in Canada: Structuring Best Practices and Pits and Traps to Avoid

There is a broad misconception that Crypto tax rules in Canada are a gray area of law. This is not true. In fact, Canada, which pioneered the expansion of digital assets post- Bitcoin with the creation of Ethereum and other seminal cryptocurrencies, was at one time a leader in Crypto regulation. This put Canada ahead of most countries in terms of having an established framework
Crypto Tax Basics: Capital gains on stable coins?

While most questions about digital asset taxation are largely settled in Canada, there are still a number of rules that cause confusion, particularly given some of the recent changes to the way capital gains are taxed. In particular, one question we often receive is: “if I buy and hold crypto currency that substantially goes up in value, and then I trade
Buying Real Estate With Cryptocurrency: What You Need To Know

With the rising values of digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, many early adopters and savvy investors are trying to find ways to use these cryptocurrencies to finance their needs. While walking into a store and using Bitcoin to purchase goods is still not widely available
Grinhaus law firm becomes first Canadian Law Firm in the Metaverse with virtual office in Decentraland

Grinhaus Law Firm, a boutique business, estates and tax law firm, as well as a leading firm in Blockchain advisory located in Toronto, Canada, has become the first Canadian law firm, and one of only a handful world-wide, to establish itself in the Metaverse
What is “Decentralized Finance” and What are the Risks?

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) refers to any financial activity, from applying for a loan to trading stocks, which is built using decentralized ledger technology. This is the same technology upon which Bitcoin and other…
What Are Crypto/Digital Assets And How Can They Be Taxed?

Thinking about buying or selling digital, or “cryptographic” assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies? Does your business already deal in digital assets? Regardless of whether you’re an investor or…
Blockchain Year in Review: The Late, but not great, 2018

As the sun sets on 2018, I hear echoes of what optimists have been saying about cryptocurrencies over the past several years, that they are to blockchain what email is to the internet: the first use…