[clay_to_n]

Yes, these are capital gains taxes. If you buy a bunch of crypto in a year, and sell none, you owe no capital gains taxes for that year.

You only pay capital gains taxes on them in the years where you sell.

Keep in mind that in the IRS's eyes, any exchange (like BTC -> LTC) counts as a sale, and so does buying goods with crypto (like buying a video game with BTC).