statism

Massachusetts regulators warn about bitcoin as ATM opens

"Massachusetts regulators issued a strongly worded warning Tuesday about the risks of the virtual currency known as bitcoin after the opening of the second ATM-like kiosk in the Boston area that make it easier for people to buy it. On Monday, the second bitcoin ATM in Massachusetts — and apparently just the fourth in the country — opened at the Clover Food Lab restaurant in Harvard Square. The company that installed and operates the machine, Liberty Teller of Boston, placed its first kiosk at South Station in Boston in February. So far, a handful of Boston-area restaurants and retailers accept the currency, whose value is determined by supply and demand." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMassachusetts regulators warn about bitcoin as ATM opens

Congressman Calls To Ban U.S. Dollar After Senator’s Bitcoin Ban Idea

"Congressman Jared Polis is calling on the Treasury to ban physical dollars in response to Senator Manchin’s plea to ban Bitcoin. 'The exchange of dollar bills, including high denomination bills, is currently unregulated and has allowed users to participate in illicit activity, while also being highly subject to forgery, theft, and loss,' wrote Polis in a statement. To be sure, the Congressman is being cheeky. 'This is just a satirical version of Senator Manchin’s letter, meant to draw attention to the fact that BitCoins are not any more susceptible to the problems that the Senator points out than dollars,' said Spokesperson Scott Overland." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCongressman Calls To Ban U.S. Dollar After Senator’s Bitcoin Ban Idea

Texas Tells Company to Stop Investments Using Bitcoin

"Texas regulators ordered an energy company to stop accepting Bitcoin for investments in oil and natural-gas wells, the first action of its kind by a state securities commissioner. Balanced Energy LLC, in the Dallas suburb of Southlake, was directed to stop selling unregistered securities using the digital currency, Texas Securities Commissioner John Morgan said yesterday in a statement. The order reflects concern that investors using Bitcoin might not get their money back, said Bob Webster, a spokesman for the Washington-based North American Securities Administrators Association. Webster described the order as the first of its kind." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTexas Tells Company to Stop Investments Using Bitcoin

Bit of Headache for Paris, Bitcoin Regulation Added to EU Agenda

"On 04 March 2014, Pierre Moscovici urged EU member states to begin talks regarding the regulation of virtual currencies. As it currently stands, bitcoin is considered 'neither a legal currency, nor a means of payment …[and]… does not fall directly within the scope of supervision and surveillance of competent authorities in payment issues', according to the Bank of France. The same can be said for the European Central Bank, who mirror these findings and also added that virtual currencies. Where publications choose to highlight negative issues, without giving fair exposure to the positive issues, it is no surprise to see the concerned authorities call for regulatory measures." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBit of Headache for Paris, Bitcoin Regulation Added to EU Agenda

Global Debt Exceeds $100 Trillion as Governments Binge, BIS Says

"The amount of debt globally has soared more than 40 percent to $100 trillion since the first signs of the financial crisis as governments borrowed to pull their economies out of recession and companies took advantage of record low interest rates, according to the Bank for International Settlements. The $30 trillion increase from $70 trillion between mid-2007 and mid-2013 compares with a $3.86 trillion decline in the value of equities to $53.8 trillion in the same period. Borrowing has soared as central banks suppress benchmark interest rates to spur growth. Yields on all types of bonds average about 2 percent, down from more than 4.8 percent in 2007." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlobal Debt Exceeds $100 Trillion as Governments Binge, BIS Says

Head of Dutch Libertarian Party Arrested Just Weeks Before Election

"The former chairman of the Dutch Libertarian Party, Toine Manders has been kidnapped in Cyprus by the FIOD (the Dutch IRS) and is currently locked away in the Netherlands in complete isolation (aside from his lawyer), in an undisclosed location. He is being held for an extended 90-day period, the charges for which are unknown. Toine Manders began his career by giving legal advice to young Dutch men who wanted to avoid military conscription. Toine Manders had attracted special attention from the government by running controversial ads that stated 'Taxation is theft', and that it was people’s moral duty to pay as little in taxes as possible, as the government is a criminal enterprise." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHead of Dutch Libertarian Party Arrested Just Weeks Before Election

Central Bank of Jordan Blocks Financial Companies from Bitcoin

"It was the Central Bank of Jordan’s (CBJ) turn to issue a digital currency warning this week, advising the public of the risks associated with the use of the financial tools, and blocking financial companies from engaging in bitcoin business. The Bank’s executive director of its payment services department, Maha Bahu, told The Jordan Times that the Kingdom’s banks, financial companies, payment processors and currency exchangers had also received a circular 'prohibiting them from dealing with virtual currencies, particularly in bitcoins'. She said the CBJ had been 'following the issue of bitcoin very closely over the past two months'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCentral Bank of Jordan Blocks Financial Companies from Bitcoin

Janet Yellen: Fed Has No Authority To Regulate Bitcoin

"'Bitcoin is a payment innovation that's taking place outside the banking industry. To the best of my knowledge there's no intersection at all, in any way, between Bitcoin and banks that the Federal Reserve has the ability to supervise and regulate. So the fed doesn't have authority to supervise or regulate Bitcoin in anyway. [..] One concern with Bitcoin is the potential for money laundering. [FinCen] has indicated their money laundering statutes are adequate to meet enforcement needs. [..] It's not so easy to regulate Bitcoin because there's no central issuer or network operator. This is a decentralized, global [entity]. [..] We're looking at this,' she concluded." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJanet Yellen: Fed Has No Authority To Regulate Bitcoin

Vietnam says bitcoin transactions are illegal

"Vietnam's communist government said trading in bitcoin and other electronic currencies is illegal, and warned its citizens not to use or invest in them. Currencies like bitcoin are unnerving financial regulators in Asia and elsewhere because they are outside of their control. Established banks don't like them because people can send the money around the world with any fees. There are a few websites that claim to offer bitcoin in exchange for Vietnamese dong, but it's unclear whether they have done any trading so far. Aside from an investment and buying goods and services online, bitcoin could be used by Vietnam's diaspora to sends home remittances." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVietnam says bitcoin transactions are illegal

U.S. Treasury cautions Bitcoin businesses on compliance duties

"The U.S. Treasury Department’s anti-money laundering unit has mailed roughly a dozen letters to businesses linked to the digital currency Bitcoin warning they may be money transmitters and be required to comply with federal law and regulation, a Treasury spokesman told Compliance Complete. These letters, sent in recent weeks by Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), are a form of 'industry outreach' aimed at making Bitcoin businesses aware of their potential anti-money laundering compliance obligations, FinCEN spokesman Steve Hudak said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Treasury cautions Bitcoin businesses on compliance duties