Bitcoin Forum

I have my own web-system ready
it is a "business"
it is ready to
to accept Bitcoin
and
also the system will pay for it's own "needs" in Bitcoin to other providers and
Bitcoin addresses who "deserve" to get paid.

my lawyer is more confused than Confusious ,
while I keep my Bitcoins as Bitcoins
with no exchange
Do I need a Lawyer??

Here is how I understand it:

If you are exchanging FIAT for BTC then you are a money exchanger and need an MSB license.

Just about anything else is up for grabs at this point.

Note: IANAL -- you might want to hit up msantori, the lawyer into bitcoins on this forum, he/she has been very helpful in these regards.

In addition your lawyer may want to contact msantori to discuss matters further.

Again, IANAL!!

Yes...and an accountant. Disclaimer IANAL.

OK, maybe not, but possibly. If you are making a profit, then who knows if your tax regime will come after you, even if you do not touch fiat.

My guess would be to treat the bitcoins as $ when you receive/send them.  Keep a record of what goes in/out.

To stay legit you might have to claim capital gains if they go up in value, but if they go down you'd get the losses as well.

Check with a CPA, this is just my guess.

Well a lawyer and/or accountant is always good for ANY business venture.

Your post is unclear but if your are worried about MSB (money service businesses) regulation the good news is FinCEN guidance is that "users" of a virtual currency  (i.e. people who buy or sell goods or services for BTC) are not regulated entities.


http://fincen.gov/statutes_regs/guidance/html/FIN-2013-G001.html

If you intend to engage in activity such as:
buy BTC for USD (or other real currencies)
sell BTC for USD
run an exchange to facilitate the trading of currency between third parties
make payments on the behalf of clients

then you likely are a financial institution and should consult a lawyer.

If you are running a mining (coin generation) enterprise the situation is even more opaque as FinCEN guidance on this area is about a clear as crude oil. The bad news is very few lawyers (and regulators) have any real knowledge of Bitcoin which makes thing "fun". Cutting edge doesn't just apply to technology.  Bitcoin is cutting edge in the regulatory, political, and legal realms as well.  Being an early adopter (business enterprise not mere user) isn't always easy.

TL/DR version:
If you are buying or selling goods/services with Bitcoin you are considered a "user" of the currency, are not a financial institution, and don't need any specific licensing.  As for accounting you can either have your accountant treat BTC as a "foreign" currency (any competent CPA should be able to handle it) or use a service provider like BitPay so that your pricing and payments are always in USD (or some other "real" currency).

Thanks for clearing that up

As a general rule, if your "business" is of a type that requires quotation marks to refer to it, then yes, you need a lawyer.

Whatever you do, you are setting a legal precedent.  No lawyer can currently provide a sound advice, as there is not much out there to base the advice on. BTC businesses should pool resources to prepare for legal fights.

Awesome, never thought I will be answered:

I am not touching FIAT , nor exchanging so maybe its up for grabs at this point.

I am selling a very cheap service with Bitcoin maybe I don't need any specific licensing. 
As for accounting you can either have your accountant treat BTC as a "foreign" currency, do I have to do it for the BTC or only for the converted amount?   guess I will look for msantori   Thanks!  :)