Bitcoin Forum

I recently found out that the current US (Federal) Anti Money Laundering laws now cover "Stored Value Cards", such as gift cards, moneypaks, and prepaid visas/mastercards. It no longer only covers Money Orders.

How do you think this policy will affect people looking to buy bitcoins, the bitcoin economy as a whole, and money laundering in general. (Bonus points if you incorporate Silk Road)

Bitcoin isn't money. It's signed certificates of speech.

If anybody tries to touch it, I cite The First Amendment.

Don't care what the state says. I'm a anarchist

Some related thoughts here:
 - http://www.bitcoinmoney.com/post/11074108719

It depends on how anonymous Bitcoin transaction are as to whether it matters.

I always assumed those already were under those laws.


Surely, you will defeat the courts with this argument!

What the fuck are you gibbering on about. Your posts are barely coherent piles of tripe at the best of times and then you post mounds of fucking grade-a shit like this.

Unlike the types of physical and electronic forms of money that we've seen historically, Bitcoin is significicantly different.

When I pay cash I am physically transferring currency and/or coin from me to you.  When I pay with a credit card, I am contracting with a third party to send funds (less a fee) to the recipient.

But when making a bitcoin payment from my own wallet, the first step is that I have my Bitcoin client software create some data.  In the U.S., this is protected speech under the First Ammendment.  However to work as money, I must broadcast that data to nodes that I am peered with which will cause the data to get included in the block chain.

Creating the data for that transaction is protected as a right but using it as money doesn't mean that it is immune from other laws.

There are scenarios where let's say I had created a painting (which is another expression of free speech) and sold it but engaged in money laundering to disguise the source of the funds, I would likely be violating AML laws.

http://www.cypherspace.org/rsa/dr-fun-munition-t-shirt.jpg (http://www.cypherspace.org/rsa/dr-fun-munition-t-shirt.jpg)

What does it mean to use it as money? What if instead of using it as money you just say it, post it to a website, email it, or broadcast it to a peer? Are any of those things protected speech?

Those all likely would be forms of protected speech, and there is nothing I know of saying there is any legal issue with you doing so.  However, if that protected speech was for the purpose of transacting bitcoins on my behalf that action might make it so that you would be required to register as a money service business and file reports with the government, for instance.

That means nothing unless you have case law to back it up.