0:45CJ the Smart GuyAwesome. So I’m originally from Southern California.
0:48Kamal HubbardOkay, awesome.
0:49CJ the Smart GuyMoved to Houston, went to another HBCU, Texas Southern University.
0:52Kamal HubbardAll right, all right.
0:52CJ the Smart GuyIllustrious Texas Southern University.
0:54Kamal HubbardTigers, baby.
0:54CJ the Smart GuyAll of that. And, uh, I graduated, uh, finance and accounting, took a job working for the railroad. It was a railroad that Warren Buffett had just bought. So I was basically doing accounting for Warren Buffett. The income statements I created said to Warren, um, and they made decisions based off of that. So I got some good experience. Then from there, after 3 years of working to the point where I got gray hair, I was like, look, I’m out, gonna do it on my own. Left, got into -- got my CPA license on my own.
1:22Kamal HubbardRight.
1:23CJ the Smart GuyUm, and then at the same time, I started studying cryptocurrency. That was around 2017. And so in 2020, it all came together. I became like the local resident CPA of the Black Bitcoin billionaires.
1:35Kamal HubbardNice.
1:35CJ the Smart GuyUm, so ever since, I’ve just been educating people about cryptocurrency, blockchain, the evolution of money, taxes. And through that, that’s how I got in contact with Sinclair Skinner and the Black Blockchain Summit. So hopefully that wasn’t too much, but that’s a little background.
1:50Kamal HubbardNo, no, I think that’s, that’s great. That’s great. And when did you know that you were fascinated by money finance and accounting?
1:59CJ the Smart GuyOh, 2008, when the, like, the entire market crashed, that was a difficult time for me as well as a lot of other people. And so my original goal was to get into accounting so I can teach my parents everything I would learn. And so I was like, look, I gotta learn this stuff because the way that my dad worked hard for 19 years and out of nowhere things just shift, right?
2:25Kamal HubbardRight.
2:25CJ the Smart GuyLike, that makes a lasting impact on you when you see your dad going to work and you just assume like, okay, cool, he’s got money saved, everything’s good, and out of nowhere everything changes. So I was like, let me learn the rules so I can, uh, report that back to the family. It wasn’t that I ever liked accounting, I just felt like I needed to learn it in order to be great. Um, so I double majored in finance and accounting. I love finance more, but how much you gonna invest if you ain’t got no money? And so accounting teaches you the rules so that you can make the money, and then once you understand it, then you can use finance to make more.
2:56Kamal HubbardDo you find that people who are in crypto are intimidated by taxes and doing their taxes?
3:06CJ the Smart GuyI feel as though less of them are intimidated. I feel like more of them are rebellious, and that’s -- that can’t be taught. Um, that’s a big thing. That’s one of the main reasons I come to these conferences. I try to educate people. Look, the IRS, they just beefed up their funding. Um, Originally it was 87,000 new IRS agents. I think it got slimmed down to 77,000. They’ve got a multitude of groups right now that are being created. And in the Inflation Reduction Act, it talks about the vast majority of it’s going to be paid through additional tax enforcement and cryptocurrency. And so you’re starting to see that stuff play out. And so there are some people that are intimidated because it is difficult, but more than anything else, they’re more rebellious and they’re just like, I lost it on a boating accident or things like that. And I’m trying to let them know, look, you’re literally going against the government right now. If you’re ready for that war, it’s not my responsibility to say anything. I’m not going to.
4:02Kamal HubbardRight.
4:03CJ the Smart GuyBut just know what you’re getting yourself into because they can’t -- they may not be able to confiscate your Bitcoin. They can confiscate you. Yeah.
4:11Kamal HubbardYour livelihood.
4:11CJ the Smart GuyYour livelihood.
4:14Kamal HubbardWell, nobody wants that. I think most people are trying to get into Bitcoin to have more freedom, more economic freedom. And so what are some things that you try to do to at least change people’s mindset around taxes as it pertains to crypto to make it seem less difficult or less intimidating?
4:34CJ the Smart GuyI teach them how to legally avoid paying taxes. That’s the first thing I teach them. So for instance, like what most wealthy people do, they buy assets, they watch them appreciate. And unfortunately in our community, a lot of times when the assets appreciate, we sell it immediately because like, oh, we made some money and then they forget the tax side. And so what I’ll tell them to do is, look, don’t sell it, just borrow against it. And in the crypto space, it’s like with any other asset, there’s different strategies.
5:01Kamal HubbardRight.
5:01CJ the Smart GuySo like if you buy a house or a property and take a loan out against it, but the property value goes down, you may have to pay some money. And if you can’t pay it, they may take the property. It’s the same thing in crypto, right? But there’s additional barriers because you might have borrowed on like a platform like a Celsius that went bankrupt, right? And so in this crypto space, educating them, look, like Bitcoin Zay says, no keys, no cheese. You have to own your private keys in order to own your crypto. Yeah, absolutely. And so like using like platforms like Unchained Capital where You always get your loans back because it’s backed and you have 2-step verification.
5:42Kamal HubbardRight.
5:43CJ the Smart GuyYou just have to learn the different steps to doing it. So once you educate them and say, look, why sell? Just borrow against your own asset and you’re good. Don’t pay any taxes legally. And so that takes away the intimidation when they don’t have to pay anything. It takes away the rebellion when they don’t have to pay anything. It’s just providing that education because a lot of people perish because of a lack of knowledge.
6:06Kamal HubbardAbsolutely. Absolutely. And so can you talk about a little bit more about your work that you do with Black Bitcoin Billionaires? And I know you talked about your capacity, but maybe some of the day-to-day stuff and what you tell some of the folks that you work with there in your advisor capacity or your role.
6:28CJ the Smart GuyYeah. Uh, that started in like December 2020, and we were predominantly on Clubhouse, and it was like a real fun time because you just had a whole bunch of people that were in the space just talking and, you know, all that. But what happens is the people who actually know what they’re talking about naturally rise to the top. So there were other accountants, there were other lawyers, there were a whole bunch of people that were just trying to, you know, get some money or get some business or whatnot. But if you don’t know what you’re talking about, you got eliminated pretty quickly.
6:56Kamal HubbardRight.
6:56CJ the Smart GuyAnd so through that process, we have a very, very great team that’s very educated, and we all want to educate our communities. And so I won’t say that it’s like a job where it’s day to day and things like that. I think more just a spirit, it’s a mindset. At any given time, you know, when you hear somebody talking about it, you just want to listen and see if they got the right information or, you know, where their mindset is. And if you see they’re talking some crazy stuff or they’re trying to hurt the community, It’s just, hey, stepping in and, you know, if not correcting them, providing the correct information so that, uh, you know, we’re all learning the correct things.
6:56CJ the Smart GuyUm, because unfortunately there have been a lot of people who have gone on TV. There’s a lot of people who intentionally hurt the community. There’s a lot of people who just try to take money out of there. And because it’s a brand new system, the, the predators play different games. And if you’re not used to those, you can fall victim pretty easily. And so that’s more the goal is on a day-to-day basis, educating the communities and correcting people who are trying, but don’t necessarily have the real knowledge. So that’s more on a day-to-day, less than it’s a job, but on Mondays we typically go on Clubhouse still and we still do the Genesis Block.
8:06Kamal HubbardOkay, cool.
8:08CJ the Smart GuyCool.
8:08Kamal HubbardSo Genesis Block on Clubhouse every Monday, what time?
8:12CJ the Smart GuyAround 10, around 10:00 AM. Eastern time. Sometimes it’s 10:15, but, you know, 10-ish.
8:20Kamal HubbardNothing wrong with that. So what should people be aware of, people who do want to abide by tax rules, who may not necessarily be fully informed on any new rules? What sort of new rules should people be on the lookout for this next tax season coming up?
8:40CJ the Smart GuySo that’s a big question. Um, so first recommendation is to double-check your tax returns from 2019 to 2022 to make sure that you’re checking the box yes, that you’ve been involved in cryptocurrency or digital assets if you’ve been involved, right? Um, because a lot of people click no, whether it was ignorance or it was defiance, but ignorance isn’t an excuse. And if you check the box no but you were in cryptocurrency, That’s considered fraud.
9:10Kamal HubbardSure.
9:10CJ the Smart GuyAnd that means they have an infinite amount of time to audit you.
9:13Kamal HubbardRight.
9:13CJ the Smart GuySo, you know, if you just check the box, yes, it at least takes that fraud and evasion off the table.
9:19Kamal HubbardRight.
9:20CJ the Smart GuyAnd so that’s the first thing I tell people is just double-check those tax returns, make sure you check those boxes. Yes, 2019 was on Schedule 1, 2020, ’21, and ’22. It’s on the very first page of your 1040. So you can just double-check on that. And then when it comes down to, uh, some of the newer rules, uh, I believe this is the first year that the S corporations, which is a Form 1120, they’re going to ask that same question that they do with individuals.
9:47Kamal HubbardRight.
9:48CJ the Smart GuyUm, that’s the first time. So what most people have been doing is that they’ve been using businesses as vehicles for their investments in crypto, and up until 2025, they’ve never had to report that. Um, like to FinCEN 2025. Now they have to report all the businesses that they own. And then in 2024, you have to, uh, check that box yes if you’re doing an 1120-S or 1120, which is like a corporation. So some of the -- those are some of the, the new laws. Also, if you did the staking, just make sure you’re reporting that as income in the year that you’re receiving the, the value. Um, A lot of people said, well, it’s property growing on property, so I don’t report it until you sell the property. But the IRS has come out and said, no, you have to report it in the year that you’ve earned it. If you have control and dominion over it, you’re supposed to report it in that year.
10:41Kamal HubbardGot it, got it, got it. Well, you know, this year’s summit is my first. So what makes this one different from summits past that you’ve been to?
10:54CJ the Smart GuyYeah, so this is the 6th one. This is my 3rd one. The first one I went to due to COVID, it was completely virtual.
11:00Kamal HubbardOkay.
11:00CJ the Smart GuySo that was a little difficult because I still showed up. A lot of us showed up, but all the events were virtual. So that was a little different. So last year was my first, like, in-person one. I think this year has been more family-oriented. I think last year we had a lot of politicians. We had Senator Booker come out. We had Ro Khanna of California. We had Tom Emmer of Minnesota. And that was really great, um, to hear their perspectives.
11:27Kamal HubbardYeah.
11:28CJ the Smart GuyUh, but I think this year is more family, family, because it’s like, these are, these are the people. You need to have less, um, attention. Prices are down, so there’s no hype, right? The hype train is gone. A lot of people think it’s dead, um, but the real family, the real ones know. And so it’s always like, especially this year, it’s like a family Like, I recognize most of the people, and so it just feels like -- feels lots of love and lots of family. So I like it. But once that bull run comes, whenever that day shows up, I know that the Black Blockchain Summit is going to grow into like probably quintuple the size of this year.
12:07Kamal HubbardWell, so that being said, before that happens, make sure you do what you need to do tax-wise. How can people if they may be unsure or want to ask you a question, how can they find you to get sage counsel and advice in these matters?
12:24CJ the Smart GuyYeah, for sure. So you can find me at CJ the Smart Guy across any platform -- Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, pretty much everything. Just make sure there’s no extra spaces, no extra letters or numbers or underscores. There’s a lot of scammers out there. So I know on Instagram I got the blue check. I haven’t paid for it on Twitter. But CJ the Smart Guy is a great way. And then if you’re like, I’d rather just email you, you could just do cjthesmartguy@gmail.com. Don’t put any personal stuff on social media or on email. Just reach out to me. You can also go to cjthesmartguy.com. And in there you can view like my contact information and things of that nature. But I try not to put any personal information whatsoever through digital unless it’s through my portal. Because safety is important. We want to make sure we protect our assets, whether financial or whether it’s informational, such as Social Security numbers. Please don’t put your Social Security number on any social media. Just reach out to me and we can set up a meeting.
13:24Kamal HubbardDefinitely don’t do that, folks. Well, there you have it. If you guys have any sort of tax questions, I would direct you to CJ because he is a very smart guy. And with that, don’t just make it a good day, make it a great day. Great day with crypto, Crypto with Kamal, and we’ll catch you on the next one here at the Black Blockchain Summit.
13:46CJ the Smart GuyThank you, Kamal, for having me, man. It’s been --
13:49Kamal HubbardThank you, CJ. Yeah, fellow Tiger. So, yeah, there we go.
