NyPo reports from the New York state Bitcoin hearings:
Freewheeling virtual currency bitcoin is about to get a babysitter.
Ben Lawsky, New York’s top financial watchdog, told a panel of high-profile tech investors on Tuesday that he’s moving full steam ahead with plans to regulate crypto currencies like bitcoin amid concerns that the cyber cash has become the money of choice for criminals.
Lawsky said he expects to propose a “regulatory framework” for the virtual currency this year, making New York the first state to impose rules on bitcoin transfers.
Lawsky has proposed issuing a BitLicense to entities that deal in bitcoin to ensure they will enforce anti-money-laundering rules, such as knowing their customers.
People can remain anonymous when spending or transferring bitcoin, which has made it attractive to criminals, experts have said. In October, the FBI shuttered Silk Road, an underground drug website that was fueled entirely by bitcoins.
On Tuesday, some of Lawsky’s well-heeled panelists rejected the notion that more regulation is needed.
At one point, Lawsky stopped to remind the panel that it’s not a matter of ‘if” they will be regulated, it’s a matter of how much.
“It’s not worth it for society to allow money laundering .. to persist to permit a thousand flowers to bloom on the innovation side,” Lawsky told the panel, including Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss of Facebook fame.
Given a choice between stopping money laundering and allowing for innovation, “We’re always going to choose squelching money laundering,” he said.
Okay libertarian Bitcoin fanboys, please explain to me once more what the advantage to Bitcoin is if it is going to be the most tracked method of spending money?
We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.-- William Casey, CIA Director (from first staff meeting in 1981)
ReplyDeleteMost of the ignorant fanboys of Bitcoin have no clue that a sadistic ruse has been run as an ongoing experiment on the American public for longer than many of them have been alive.
Regulating bitcoin is like regulating sex - good luck with that.
ReplyDeleteWe'll see just how effective state level regulations are against a global pseudonymous currency. The state can try to regulate bitcoin all day long, just like they can try to regulate drugs all day long. Their effectiveness at stopping either will be about the same.
ReplyDeleteHOWEVER - even if NY state is completely effective at regulating the global bitcoin market (LOL), all that means is they will know who is doing what with the currency. They will still not be able to inflate it. Just stopping the state from being able to inflate a currency is enough to eventually kill of the state. Inflating currencies will be dumped by everyone in favor of one that retains its value.
I would add, that businesses that want to do business in bitcoin will leave the NYC. As though doing that would be considered a tragedy!?! ;-0
DeleteFirst, the regulations would be New York state regulations, not NYC regs. But more important, do you seriously think there are any firms (outside of Bitcoin firms) that are going to leave the state because they won't be allowed to do business in Bitcoin? That's absurd.
DeleteGovernments are salivating over trackable virtual currencies, it simply is they want to issue and control it.
ReplyDeleteThink they want to give up their 'flexible fiat' that enables massive deficit spending and favors to their well heeled backers? Bitcoin and other crypto currencies may do more for getting the masses on digital currencies than Govts.(and their favored interests) could ever have imagined. The Bitcoin FanBoyz are oblivious to all of this.
None of the bitcoin proponents has dealt with the biggest issue - no retailer is going to accept it with all these regulatory headaches
ReplyDeleteSo ... how exactly will it be money? I mean a real, actual money - I'm sure it will still have its uses on Silk Road-esque sites, which is fantastic ... but its not exactly a general fiat alternative
Ok, so Bitcoin is being harassed by the government. What's YOUR point? You keep saying that Bitcoin is unsound and will fail. All is I see is goons swarming innocent people who freely want to exchange in a certain way. All I read on this blog is trashing the whole idea of freely exchanging currencies when you should be writing articles on championing peoples freedom to buy and sell in Bitcoin or any other method. Bitcoin will probably be destroyed, not because it was an unsound idea, rather because the government threatened harm on it's users. Whether it works or fails on its own merits will be a lost question never answered. Bring on Darkwallet.
ReplyDelete"What's YOUR point?"
DeleteHis point is that Bitcoin is a bad investment.
"All I read on this blog is trashing the whole idea of freely exchanging currencies ..."
Then you honestly don't understand what your'e reading. Robert is warning his readers to beware. He wants his readers to fully understand the risk of converting currency into BitCoin. He's not making an ethical judgement on the merits of freely exchanging currencies. There's a difference.
(Anon#2)
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, the point is that there are a lot of BTC cheerleaders who seem oblivious to BTCs flaws, and also the big picture.
Until Zerocoin and Darkwallet are something more than vaporware, color me unimpressed.
Here's a little secret for you Bitcoin Haters: CoinJoin and SharedCoin are already in place and being used now. Do your homework and you'll find out where.
DeleteCue the Funeral March. Bye bye shitcoins.
ReplyDelete@ Chris B January 29, 2014 at 8:45 PM
DeleteYes, many ignorant folks have been singing that tune for 5 years now. Meanwhile, thousands of people have prospered and enjoyed a new level of monetary freedom. Some day you may be right - just understand that you may be singing that tune for a long, long time.
Another sad looser.. Sing all you like pal... We will just add more and more and more..... Let the government chase us.. And we will always be one step ahead.. Get inline and follow us while you still can.
DeleteYeah, you will be "one step ahead," just like Ross Ulbricht and Charlie Shrem.
DeleteFuck your rules...
ReplyDelete