Title: Community validation requested-- about bitcoin for publication Post by: Matthew N. Wright on July 18, 2011, 10:40:40 PM Although "Bitcoin Discussions" may be a better place for this thread based on the topic, I thought that regulars of this board would be more active and critical and therefor more useful in either confirming or denying the following claims.
I am intending to put some information in our publications that I would like to run by the community first for validity and opinion. These publications will be intended for merchants who may be interested in accepting Bitcoin. Additional points you may have are also welcome. Understand that these do not necessarily reflect my personal opinions and much of it was collected from websites and forum discussions about Bitcoin. This thread is intended for fact collecting/validating purposes only. Please be nice.
Title: Re: Community validation requested-- about bitcoin for publication Post by: Stephen Gornick on July 18, 2011, 11:51:28 PM Un-regulatable - Bitcoins don’t meet the legal definition of a security under federal securities law; which therefore means they lie outside of the SEC’s ability to regulate and control them. The issue has not been addressed by any courts in the U.S. Additionally, the U.S. is one nation. There are For within the U.S., there is this: - http://www.lextechnologiae.com/2011/06/26/why-bitcoin-isnt-a-security-under-federal-securities-law/ Un-confiscatable - Bitcoin data, although voided once used, can be copied in stored in multiple locations. If encrypted properly, this makes it impossible for government bodies or malicious groups to confiscate funds retained in Bitcoin. Being forced to turn over passwords or encryption keys is described here:- http://www.eff.org/wp/know-your-rights Then again, depending on which government or malicious group you have in mind, there is also: - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber-hose_cryptanalysis Title: Re: Community validation requested-- about bitcoin for publication Post by: JoelKatz on July 19, 2011, 12:01:48 AM I agree with everything you said with moderate confidence except bitcoin not being a security. That's a much closer call. I think it's probably not under current US law, but courts could rule either way. It depends on how you parse the word "value".
Title: Re: Community validation requested-- about bitcoin for publication Post by: Anonymous on July 19, 2011, 12:22:31 AM Un-regulatable - Bitcoins don’t meet the legal definition of a security under federal securities law; which therefore means they lie outside of the SEC’s ability to regulate and control them. The issue has not been addressed by any courts in the U.S. Additionally, the U.S. is one nation. There are For within the U.S., there is this: - http://www.lextechnologiae.com/2011/06/26/why-bitcoin-isnt-a-security-under-federal-securities-law/ Un-confiscatable - Bitcoin data, although voided once used, can be copied in stored in multiple locations. If encrypted properly, this makes it impossible for government bodies or malicious groups to confiscate funds retained in Bitcoin. Being forced to turn over passwords or encryption keys is described here:- http://www.eff.org/wp/know-your-rights Then again, depending on which government or malicious group you have in mind, there is also: - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber-hose_cryptanalysis Title: Re: Community validation requested-- about bitcoin for publication Post by: Matthew N. Wright on July 19, 2011, 12:24:16 AM Updated "unregulatable" to "uregulated" (as that's certainly the case) and put in a note about how that's merely the current state; as this changes the "Non-taxable" claim slightly, that was updated as well with a more neutral approach and better details.
Request for comments: Is there any way you can be taxed by US law currently for a profit on a currency exchanged (Forex, etc)? I realize that the purchase and sale of stocks is taxable, but what if you are going on a business trip and you change your currency from USD to JPN, then back again, and happen to have an extra $10USD due to the market rate change? Would you be required to report that in your taxes under any circumstances? Updated "Un-confiscatable" as "Virtually Un-confiscatable" and changed the details to be more realistic of a worst case scenario. Title: Re: Community validation requested-- about bitcoin for publication Post by: Anonymous on July 19, 2011, 12:25:40 AM Request for comments: Is there any way you can be taxed by US law currently for a profit on a currency exchanged (Forex, etc)? I realize that the purchase and sale of stocks is taxable, but what if you are going on a business trip and you change your currency from USD to JPN, then back again, and happen to have an extra $10USD due to the market rate change? Would you be required to report that in your taxes under any circumstances? That goes under a Capital Gains Tax under US law.Title: Re: Community validation requested-- about bitcoin for publication Post by: Matthew N. Wright on July 19, 2011, 12:26:22 AM You don't have to turn over any keys if the government doesn't know you have any BitCoins to begin with. Agreed, more or less. This information however is geared towards merchants and therefor follows a slightly different mindset/code of ethics. Business owners who require licenses in order to do business will probably not advertise their acceptance of Bitcoin without fully understanding their taxation requirements of it. As so, I hope to be as informative as possible with this information. That goes under a Capital Gains Tax under US law. Updated "Tax-free" segment to reflect Capital Gains Tax laws. Title: Re: Community validation requested-- about bitcoin for publication Post by: onesalt on July 19, 2011, 12:29:12 AM Bitcoins are only 100% secure up to the point you use them, once you try and use them they're open to all sorts of security flaws that aren't any fault of bitcoins but a fault of the system.
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