The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) could seize people’s crypto assets to settle unpaid taxes, an agency official said.

• Robert Wearing, deputy associate chief counsel at the IRS, told a virtual conference Wednesday that crypto can be seized in the event of failure to pay taxes just like other property.
• This is in line with a 2014 IRS notice that crypto will be treated as property, not currency, for tax purposes.
• “Bottom line: The IRS will seize that property and will attempt to follow its usual procedures to sell it and use it to satisfy collection,” Wearing said, according to Bloomberg.
• The IRS recently contracted crypto tax service provider TaxBit to assist with auditing of crypto transactions to verify the correct reporting of taxes by high-volume traders. 

See also: How to File Your Crypto Taxes (and Not Get Screwed)