@everittmickey Thanks for checking out the article and the question.

If the question of enforcement feasibility is focused on whether or not they have legal jurisdiction, the answer is they do have jurisdiction and moreover, the government body responsible for their oversight (TIGTA) released two scathing reports in September about their negligence with enforcement actions related to illegal transactions and illegal tax evasion with cryptocurrencies. This is what caused the John Doe record demand with Coinbase.

If the question of enforcement is do they have the resources, the answer is not really, but they will make this a priority. In response to the three general concerns raised by the auditors, the IRS couched every reply with a limited resources caveat. I think crypto has become the flavor of the day for enforcement for a number of reasons which would be an excellent subject for a later topic, but not really relevant here.

How would they enforce this action? By systematically hitting the crypto exchanges (on ramps and off ramps) with record demands. In my earlier piece US Tax Considerations – IRS Warned by TIGTA to Focus on Illegal Use of Virtual Currency | IRS Demands Coinbase Records, I specifically laid out how I think the enforcement actions will proceed. In it I speculated Steemit will probably get a record demand fro the IRS sometime next year after Poloniex and some other exchanges receive theirs and comply in various ways (I suspect they will).

I hope that answers your question.