Title: LEGALLY, why are crypto coins different from items in real-$ video game markets? Post by: opet on December 05, 2013, 11:34:25 PM A few honest questions regarding the apparent necessity for new regulations and laws involving crypto currencies:
If Bitcoins were a part of one gigantic video game based on mining, and the mining software, wallets, and mobile apps were simply considered game clients or plug-ins, would the coins themselves be treated differently by the governments? Other than the additional technical capabilities built into the crypto-currencies themselves, and the coin network infrastructures being vastly powerful, what makes them different from the swords and coins exchanged in the old Diablo 3 real-money market? What makes them LEGALLY different from any video game that includes a legitimate real-money market of some sort? (ie. Lindens in Second Life) After all, won't their existence in a virtual world, or "space," be part of the natural evolution of the coin networks someday? What if that's where they started? Would the government reactions have been the same? Is it the simple fact that they're decentralized that results in the need for regulation and government interference? I don't recall anyone suggesting the government regulate or control Second Life... Just curious... |