Thursday, February 27, 2014

Senator Calls for Banning Bitcoin


Here come the bankster tools.

Catherine Hollander reports for the National Journal:
The fall of Mt. Gox, one of the best-known bitcoin exchanges, has produced intense speculation over the future of the virtual currency. One senator has an idea for what should be next for the decentralized currency: Shut it down in the United States—or at least subject it to strict regulation.
"This virtual currency is currently unregulated and has allowed users to participate in illicit activity, while also being highly unstable and disruptive to our economy," Sen. Joe Manchin said in a letter to banking regulators Wednesday. "I urge regulators to take appropriate action to limit the abilities of this highly unstable currency."
Here is the full letter:
 Dear Secretary Lew, Chairwoman Yellen, Commissioner Curry, Acting Chairman Wetjen, Chairman Gruenberg, Chairwoman White:

I write today to express my concerns about Bitcoin. This virtual currency is currently unregulated and has allowed users to participate in illicit activity, while also being highly unstable and disruptive to our economy. For the reasons outlined below, I urge regulators to take appropriate action to limit the abilities of this highly unstable currency.

By way of background, Bitcoin is a crypto-currency that has gained notoriety in recent months due to its rising exchange value and relation to illegal transactions.  Each Bitcoin is defined by a public address and a private key, thus Bitcoin is not only a token of value but also a method for transferring that value.  It also means that Bitcoin provides a unique digital fingerprint, which allows for anonymous and irreversible transactions.

The very features that make Bitcoin attractive to some also attract criminals who are able to disguise their actions from law enforcement. Due to Bitcoin’s anonymity, the virtual market has been extremely susceptible to hackers and scam artists stealing millions from Bitcoins users. Anonymity combined with Bitcoin’s ability to finalize transactions quickly, makes it very difficult, if not impossible, to reverse fraudulent transactions.

Bitcoin has also become a haven for individuals to buy black market items. Individuals are able to anonymously purchase items such as drugs and weapons illegally. I have already written to regulators once on the now-closed Silkroad, which operated for years in supplying drugs and other black market items to criminals, thanks in large part to the creation of Bitcoin.

That is why more than a handful of countries, and their banking systems, have cautioned against the use of Bitcoin.  Indeed, it has been banned in two different countries—Thailand and China—and South Korea stated that it will not recognize Bitcoin as a legitimate currency.  Several other countries, including the European Union, have issued warnings to Bitcoin users as their respective governments consider options for regulating or banning its use entirely. While it is disappointing that the world leader and epicenter of the banking industry will only follow suit instead of making policy, it is high time that the United States heed our allies’ warnings. I am most concerned that as Bitcoin is inevitably banned in other countries, Americans will be left holding the bag on a valueless currency.

Our foreign counterparts have already understood the wide range of problems even with Bitcoin’s legitimate uses - from its significant price fluctuations to its deflationary nature. Just last week, Bitcoin prices plunged after the currency’s major exchange, Mt. Gox, experienced technical issues. Two days ago, this exchange took its website down and is no longer even accessible. This was not a unique event; news of plummeting or skyrocketing Bitcoin prices is almost a weekly occurrence. In addition, its deflationary trends ensure that only speculators, such as so-called “Bitcoin miners,” will benefit from possessing the virtual currency. There is no doubt average American consumers stand to lose by transacting in Bitcoin. As of December 2013, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) shows 1.3% inflation, while a recent media report indicated Bitcoin CPI has 98% deflation. In other words, spending Bitcoin now will cost you many orders of wealth in the future. This flaw makes Bitcoin’s value to the U.S. economy suspect, if not outright detrimental.

The clear ends of Bitcoin for either transacting in illegal goods and services or speculative gambling make me weary of its use.  The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee issued a report just this month stating, “There is widespread concern about the Bitcoin system’s possible impact on national currencies, its potential for criminal misuse, and the implications of its use for taxation.” Before the U.S. gets too far behind the curve on this important topic, I urge the regulators to work together, act quickly, and prohibit this dangerous currency from harming hard-working Americans.

Sincerely,
U.S. Joe Manchin III
United States Senator

For the record Manchin is a member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. Among his top contributors are Commercial Banks sector and the Securities & Investment sector.

In the past, he has sponsored legislation beneficial to the banking industry, including S.1912. A bill to clarify that certain banking entities are not required to divest from collateralized debt obligations backed by trust preferred securities under the Volcker Rule.

8 comments:

  1. Here we go. First comes Regulation of Bitcoin.
    In short order we will have Bitcoin Subsidies, Bitcoin Tax Credits Bitcoin Bailouts

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yeah he's looking out for the little guy. Wink, wink. What a joke.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe one of his "clients" has a problem with it. Surprising that the letter writing was given to Joe when fellow West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller might have been more at home penning it.

      Delete
  3. "There is no doubt average American consumers stand to lose by transacting in Bitcoin. As of December 2013, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) shows 1.3% inflation, while a recent media report indicated Bitcoin CPI has 98% deflation. In other words, spending Bitcoin now will cost you many orders of wealth in the future. This flaw makes Bitcoin’s value to the U.S. economy suspect, if not outright detrimental."

    BWAH HAH HA!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Isn't the dollar guilty of all the same problems?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, but that doesn't make the case for Bitcoin any stronger.

      Delete
    2. right that is the lesser of two evils argument- the us dollar isn't backed by anything and bitcoin isn't either. BUT the US dollar is backed by guns and the force of law.
      Anyone can create a fake currency, limited it in issuance and claim its better than the us dollar or bitcoin-just convince enough people to believe it

      Delete
  5. There are so many indications in this letter that Joe Manchin is brain-damaged that it's difficult to know where to begin. It's embarrassing that such a clueless weenie is a US Senator.

    Another symptom, I suppose, of the decline of the West.

    ReplyDelete