Great question! This is known as bartering. You give them something tangible and they give you something in return that is not currency per se but has value of its own. Here's the tricky part. Your regular income (probably subject the FICA taxes) is the fair market value (FMV) on the date of the exchange. But if the barter item increases in value after you "invest" in it then you also have a capital gain in the amount of the difference in the FMV on the exchange date and the date of sale. Same if you have a loss. Think of it as two totally separate transactions. One is the exchange or barter and the other is the sale of the asset.