— Covering digital currencies, precious metals and online payments
This week members of the Bitcoin Foundation had a series of meetings with regulators and law makers in DC.
On Monday 5 Foundation members, Marco Santori, Patrick Murck, Peter Vessenes, Brian Klein and Jim Harper, met with representatives from a number of US agencies including FinCEN, IRS, FDIC, Federal Reserve, OCC, FBI, DEA, Secret Service, and the Department of Homeland Security.
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Frank Schaeffler, a member of German parliament’s Finance Committee has issued a statement recognizing Bitcoin as “Rechnungseinheiten,” which translates to “units of account”. Many news sources are reporting that this makes Bitcoin ‘private money’ or ‘legal tender’ in Germany.
But what exactly does the designation of “Rechnungseinheiten” mean for German Bitcoin users and businesses?
The German parliament stopped short of granting bitcoin full currency status on August 19, but recognized bitcoins as “units of account” when it formally issued regulations for the popular virtual currency.
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The full report can be read here.
First NY, then the House and now the Senate, US regulators are turning their attention to virtual currencies.
On Monday the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs sent a letter to Homeland Security for information on any policies, procedures or guidance they have that pertains to “virtual currencies”.
The letter states the committee has initiated an inquiry into virtual currencies, list recent legal actions involving Bitcoin and contains the usual ‘hey were all for new tech, but we need to look at the threats and risks’.
The letter, which can be read here, ask Homeland Security for 3 things to be provided by the end of the month…
The United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies 2014 appropriations bill recommends spending amounts for a number of government agencies including the FBI.
In their 2014 appropriations bill, the subcommittee directs the FBI to report on Bitcoin, specifically what the FBI is doing to address the “challenge” that they see from the “ersatz currency“.
The New York banking regulator has issued subpoenas to 22 companies associated with Bitcoin as part of an “Inquiry on Virtual Currencies”.
A subpoena doesn’t mean criminal activity has taken place. A person familiar with the matter says the two-year-old department wants to make sure Bitcoin isn’t a conduit for illicit activities and is gathering information in order to decide whether to issue regulation for virtual currencies. The department has the authority to create regulation if there is no other primary regulator.
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Critical Vulnerability Found in Bitcoin Android Wallets. The Android software itself has a vulnerability in the way it generates random numbers. Long story short, if you have Bitcoin wallet on an Android phone you’ll want to upgrade your app and/or temporarily move your bitcoins off your phone. Details here.
It looks like Bloomberg is testing a Bitcoin ticker. Abbreviating Bitcoin as XBT, Bloomberg terminal users can now look up Bitcoin’s pricing history. Data comes from Bitcoin exchange service Mt. Gox as well as Tradehill. More details here.
The Bitcoin ATM is now available for pre-order. The makers of the Bitcoin machine, Lamassu, are now accepting orders for the machine. Lamassu will sell the machine with the appropriate software installed and leave regulatory compliance to those operating the ‘ATM’. Customers in the US are required to sign a due diligence questionnaire. Prices start at $5000 via Bitcoin or wire transfers. Order yours here.
Why Libbitcoin matters. Libbitcoin is an advanced alternative implementations of the Bitcoin protocol. While there are other alternative implementations, this one is unique it allows Bitcoin users with some technical skills but not necessarily experienced programmers to “work directly with the underlying [Bitcoin] building blocks.”
This may be a competitor to the current implementation, bitcoind and have the effect of limiting the influence of Bitcoin updates coming from authorities such as the Bitcoin Foundation. This may help to maintain Bitcoin’s decentralized nature and has some political implictions as explained here.
Bitcoin is officially Money. The SEC is suing Trendon Shavers for running a Ponzi scheme, the Bitcoin Savings & Trust. Part of Mr Trendon’s defence was to claim that Bitcoin investments are not securities and Bitcoin is not money; last week a judge disagreed.
Announced this week at the Inside Bitcoins conference the new DATA industry group aims to represent businesses not just in the Bitcoin space but any digital asset including, “emerging payments, virtual currency, and other financial technology innovations”.
DATA, or the Digital Asset Transfer Authority’s founding members include the CEO’s of leading Bitcoin businesses such as BitInstant, BitPay, & BitStamp as well as the CEO’s of other digital currency businesses including Ripple’s OpenCoin and Ven.
However, the groups stated goals seem sure to heat up the regulation debate.
From DATA’s official announcement …
To reach this potential, to inspire confidence in the services we offer, and to ensure fair and responsible treatment of consumers and merchants, we believe our industry must evolve in compliance with law and regulation. We must work proactively with regulators and policymakers to adapt their requirements to our technologies and business models. We must develop and implement common risk management and compliance standards that address the public policy concerns associated with our businesses. And our firms must build risk management and compliance programs that meet those standards.
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On Monday, Thailand based Bitcoin exchange Bitcoin Co. Ltd. ceased trading due to an advisement from the Bank of Thailand declaring Bitcoin transactions illegal.
At the conclusion of the meeting senior members of the Foreign Exchange Administration and Policy Department advised that due to lack of existing applicable laws, capital controls and the fact that Bitcoin straddles multiple financial facets the following Bitcoin activities are illegal in Thailand:
The exchange had been operating on previous advice from the Bank of Thailand that Bitcoin was not a currency. However, the businesses had been in the process of registering with regulators in Thailand to ensure that they were operating lawfully.
This change in policy from the Bank of Thailand occurred after the exchange made a presentation to bank members in an attempt to explain the currency to them. The companies managing director gave a presentation on “the workings of Bitcoin, the benefits of Bitcoin, incite into the company’s operations and future implications of Bitcoin.” …I guess he got their attention!
Exchanges are the link between the old world of banking and the new world of crypto-currencies; they play a vital role in supporting the growing Bitcoin economy. If Bitcoin hopes to continue rapidly gaining new users it needs this bridge between the old and new systems to be up and functioning. While Bitcoin is in no way dependant on a link to the traditional banking system, its smooth transition into mainstream use certainly is.
Unfortunately these bridges which make up the exchange market are concentrated and often broken. This leads to concerns over reliability and security, which can cause market panic and extreme volatility. As Bitcoin enters the mainstream a wave of new businesses, services and software developers have recently dedicated their efforts to solving this problem. Their task will not be easy, and the while the exchange rate has seen some recent stability, there is a long way to go before obtaining bitcoins can be called user friendly and reliable.
Read More about Bitcoin, Regulators and Online Markets – a look at the World of Bitcoin Exchange
