statism

Taiwan’s Government Says No To Bitcoin ATMs

"Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) will not allow the installation of Bitcoin ATMs in the country because it believes Bitcoins are not a currency and should therefore not be accepted by individuals or banks as payment, said FSC chairman Tseng Ming-chung. U.S.-based company Robocoin planned to bring its Bitcoin ATMs to Taiwan and Hong Kong as part of its global expansion plans. Government attitudes toward Bitcoin differ widely throughout Asia, but the FSC’s decision is yet another sign that the cryptocurrency’s increasing mainstream acceptance also means it will come under scrutiny by more financial regulators." Continue reading →

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Who Needs Bitcoin? Venezuela Has Its ‘Sucre’

"The late Venezuelan president created the sucre, a virtual currency designed to dethrone the dollar as the main trading currency used with his country's regional trading partners: Ecuador, Cuba, Bolivia and Nicaragua. The sucre is managed by a board of central-bank representatives, which has helped bolster its use. Ecuadorean companies exported $737 million worth of goods to Venezuela using the sucre system in the first nine months of 2013, an 80% increase from the same period in 2012, according to Ecuador's central bank. That growth has drawn attention from the country's regulators, which are cracking down as fraud involving the virtual currency rises." Continue reading →

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Insatiable appetite for gold fuels India’s smuggling industry

"Indian gold smugglers are adopting the methods of drug couriers to sidestep a government crackdown on imports of the precious metal, stashing gold in imported vehicles and even using mules who swallow nuggets to try to get them past airport security. Stung by rules imposed this year to cut a high trade deficit and a record duty on imports, dealers and individual customers are fanning out across Asia to buy gold and sneak it back into the country. Sri Lanka, Thailand and Singapore are the latest hotspots as authorities crack down on travellers from Dubai, the traditional source of smuggled gold." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingInsatiable appetite for gold fuels India’s smuggling industry

Debt hits 200-year high; IMF warns of ‘savings tax’ and mass write-offs

"Much of the Western world will require defaults, a savings tax and higher inflation to clear the way for recovery as debt levels reach a 200-year high, according to a new report by the International Monetary Fund. The IMF working paper said debt burdens in developed nations have become extreme by any historical measure and will require a wave of haircuts, either negotiated 1930s-style write-offs or the standard mix of measures used by the IMF in its 'toolkit' for emerging market blow-ups. Financial repression can take many forms, including capital controls, interest rate caps or the force-feeding of government debt to captive pension funds and insurance companies." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDebt hits 200-year high; IMF warns of ‘savings tax’ and mass write-offs

ED officials raided two bitcoin trading firm in Ahmedabad

"Days after the RBI issued a cautionary note regarding the use of popular virtual currency Bitcoin, Enforcement Directorate officials here raided two companies running Bitcoin transactions in India. ED officials told ET that on Thursday raids were conducted on the offices of rBitco.in and buysellbitco.in. This is India's first bitcoin raid and second globally after FBI conducted the raid in October, they said. As per the sources, the owners of the both the bitcoin trading firm would be booked under FEMA Act initially. However, after detail investigation of the data collected, if any havala transaction or criminal nature transaction is detected then they would be booked under the appropriate Act." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingED officials raided two bitcoin trading firm in Ahmedabad

Bitcoin exchanges shut shop in India

"BuySellBitCo.in CEO Mahin Gupta refused to comment on what would happen to the investment that went into BuySellBitCo.in. However, the exchange’s website pointed out that it was suspending operations until a clearer operating framework could be found. 'Post the RBI circular, we are suspending buy and sell operations. This is being done to protect the interests of our customers and in no way is a reflection of Bitcoin’s true potential or price,' the trading platform said. Another trading platform, INBRTC, claimed that the 'only option now was to suspend services until further arrangements could be made.'" Continue reading →

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Get Ready for Confiscation

"Once it has sunk in that such a move is perfectly acceptable in Europe, the US will declare its own bail-in policy. Those who still cling to some hope that there may be some good news here, may say, 'Well, at least if I have less than €100,000 on deposit, I can still call that my own.' These folks will be the same ones who are relieved that they are likely to be left out of a 'one-time' wealth tax that is currently being floated as another solution to the exorbitant operating costs of governments. However, any government that steals your money once is likely to have another go at a later date. And another and another. Once they are accepted at all—for any reason—governments tend to repeat them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGet Ready for Confiscation

Get Ready for Confiscation

"Once it has sunk in that such a move is perfectly acceptable in Europe, the US will declare its own bail-in policy. Those who still cling to some hope that there may be some good news here, may say, 'Well, at least if I have less than €100,000 on deposit, I can still call that my own.' These folks will be the same ones who are relieved that they are likely to be left out of a 'one-time' wealth tax that is currently being floated as another solution to the exorbitant operating costs of governments. However, any government that steals your money once is likely to have another go at a later date. And another and another. Once they are accepted at all—for any reason—governments tend to repeat them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGet Ready for Confiscation

Why Gordon Brown sold Britain’s gold at a knock-down price [2012]

"When Brown decided to dispose of almost 400 tonnes of gold between 1999 and 2002, he did two distinctly odd things. First, he broke with convention and announced the sale well in advance, giving the market notice that it was shortly to be flooded and forcing down the spot price. This was apparently done in the interests of 'open government', but had the effect of sending the spot price of gold to a 20-year low, as implied by basic supply and demand theory. Second, the Treasury elected to sell its gold via auction, which frequently achieved a lower price than the equivalent fix price. It seemed almost as if the Treasury was trying to achieve the lowest price possible for the public’s gold. It was." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy Gordon Brown sold Britain’s gold at a knock-down price [2012]

Saving Europe’s banks: EU gets landmark deal

"Europe has agreed the core elements of a banking union that mark the most significant pooling of national power since the birth of the euro. European Union leaders meeting in Brussels Thursday will sign off a compromise deal hammered out overnight by their finance ministers after months of difficult negotiations. It will then go to European lawmakers for final approval before May 2014. The banking union is central to the eurozone's response to future financial crises. The aim is to stop bank collapses from trashing national economies -- a fate Ireland suffered in 2010 -- and destabilizing the euro." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSaving Europe’s banks: EU gets landmark deal