What FinCEN’s guidance could mean for Bitcoin

Julia Dixon on March 21, 2013

As you would expect the Bitcoin world is abuzz with commentary and speculation about the consequences of the FinCEN paper. Some of the more interesting theories on its implications are below…

FinCEN’s guidance may lead to Bitcoin businesses being required to obtain separate money transmitter licenses in 48 states; a difficult and very expensive task. Payment Source.

Could FinCEN’s target be Bitcoin’s anonymity? Might they target Bitcoin mixing services? The Ümlaut.

The guidance may imply that every person who has ever had any virtual currency and exchanged it for ‘real’ currency can now be considered a money transmitter.  The Bitcoin Foundation.

Anonymity – Online and Offline

Julia Dixon on November 14, 2012

Anonymity is slightly off topic for this blog, however, online payments and internet security do go hand in hand and I try to stay educated on these matters.

While following the Petraeus scandal I have been shocked by how few precautions these military and intelligence officers were taking to protect their online anonymity. From this I can only assume that there is a serious lack of education on these topics.

The new website dedicated to privacy, Shadow Life, is working on a 5 part series on anonymity. So far only parts I & II are available but they are an excellent lesson in understanding anonymity.

Check it out … this stuff is important!

Anonymity – Online and Offline – Part I