Bitcoin Forum

Ron Paul says no:

Don't ask government to regulate Bitcoin
http://www.ronpaulchannel.com/video/dont-ask-government-regulate-bitcoin/?utm_source=RPFBG&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=DailyUpdate

Ron Paul is the best president the US never had.

Where is the option for "it already is regulated"

Where's the option for "Why did you have to create a poll to ask such a stupidly obvious question"?

And while you're at it, can you please add an option for "Why are bitcointalk members allowed to create polls willy-nilly when it's obvious that nobody here actually has the mental acumen to know when a poll is appropriate and when it is just completely retarded"?

Cut the crap, you know perfectly well in what context is regulation mentioned here and what sort of regulation governments are after.

I have to keep reminding myself of that. As long as it remains decentralized, any other attempts at regulation by governments are likely to be futile.

OTOH, governments will have no problems regulating many of the people that use Bitcoin.

Don't ask the government to [just about anything]

Well, you can't regulate Bitcoin, at least not without regulating one of the last free markets we have left: the Internet.

What governments can regulate is businesses, especially financial service ones dealing with virtual currency. I agree with what Ron Paul says is government's proper role: enforcing contract rights and preventing fraud.

So, for example, when New York State's Superintendent of Financial Services, Ben Lawsky, says some regulation (http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000252988) of Bitcoin businesses, if done with a light touch, can make sense I'm in no rush to disagree. An example might be procedures to ensure exchanges are not engaging in deception with fractional reserves & Ponzi-like accounting. I think a majority of the community would agree with that. There was also mention of a mandatory disclaimer sites could show warning of risks and no recourse for loss etc.

In other words, simply give the free market helpful tools to do its job effectively, but no more. That makes good sense to me.

Three scenarios and how it affects commerce:

No regulation
Simple and good, but many companies may not accept bitcoin at all because of juridical uncertainty.

Regulation
Positive for most companies, they know how to fulfil the legal requirements.
Negative for small companies if the regulations becomes to demanding and complex.

Illegal
No company within the jurisdiction will accept bitcoin if it becomes illegal.
Instead bitcoin will only be used for domestic illegal activities or online to shop from other countries.

If it isn't regulated and survives, it would be something very new.  I remain skeptical but imagine if the people literally voted with their money for projects and other necessary government spending.  However, if some citizens never choose to fund any government projects then others would gripe that a mandatory tax should be instated.  

But then again, America is one the few countries where men can choose to not serve in the military; unless a draft occurs, of course.