Prior to 2009, digital assets were anything that was created and stored digitally and provided value, like data or an image. With the introduction of Bitcoin, the landscape drastically changed and digital assets became more common as they are increasingly being used as a method of payment, as well as an investment asset. Because of this, the government needed to update their reporting rules, as the current reporting methods were not fully encompassing; taxpayers were often left to keep track of their own gains and losses with little direction, leading to underreporting.