There's nothing to read here but fear porn. He didn't incur this tax liability simply by trading crypto. He gambled with 100% of his gains by tossing them into altcoins. He should have pulled out what was his tax on his gains on December 31, 2017 and gambled the rest of what was left. His mistake, and unfortunately that isn't what is being made obvious here. The article makes it appear as if this ungodly tax liability appeared simply because he traded crypto and not because he missed an order in operation, pay your taxes. He had nearly a month in January to decide to do that, but clearly saw the moon, and made the wrong bet.