Monday, February 3, 2014

NYT: More Bitcoin Regulation Is Inevitable

From NYT's Dealbook, Peter J. Henning, a professor at Wayne State University Law School, ad the author of “The Prosecution and Defense of Public Corruption: The Law & Legal Strategies,” writes:
The next phase in the development of virtual currencies like Bitcoin was highlighted at a hearing last week conducted by Benjamin M. Lawsky, New York State’s top banking regulator. The question is not whether there will be greater regulation of firms developing new methods of transmitting payments with nongovernment currencies, but how much regulation they will face.

The idea that Bitcoin could be an alternative to traditional money that would allow users to conduct transactions anonymously beyond the pale of intrusive government regulators has proved to be little more than a pipe dream[...]It would not be a surprise if one tool would require those who control or trade over a certain threshold amount of a virtual currency to report their holdings to the government. This approach is much like the rules requiring the owner of 5 percent of the shares of a publicly traded company to disclose any transactions to the Securities and Exchange Commission[...]The days of anonymous transactions in Bitcoin and operating an exchange with no outside interference are over. As virtual currencies develop, firms devoted to aiding trading, and perhaps even their users, will encounter greater government regulation, along with the costs that come with compliance.
In other words, bitcoiners who choose to remain anonymous will have to deal with the likelihood that if the government discovers who they are, they will be prosecuted.

4 comments:

  1. Phht.

    All they have to do is blacklist any coin from a mixer. Fuggetaboutit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You obviously don't know how bitcoins work because "they" have no way of knowing a bitcoin went through a mixing service.

      Delete
  2. I was unaware with the fact that as virtual currencies develop, firms devoted to aiding trading, and perhaps even their users.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Like the Internet, Bitcoin has no boundaries, you may join in Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, but also in North- and South America or even on the South Pole.

    ReplyDelete