Judge Shoots Down ‘Bitcoin Isn’t Money’ Argument in Silk Road Trial

[cescan]

The government and legal community may still be arguing over whether bitcoin can be defined as “money.” But the judge presiding over the landmark Silk Road drug case has declared that it’s at least close enough to get you locked up for money laundering.

[Justin00]

Kinda figured that when the FBI raided the library he was in with guns drawn

[murraypaul]

http://www.scribd.com/doc/233234104/Forrest-Denial-of-Defense-Motion-in-Silk-Road-Case

The judge has a sense of humour:

The defendant also raises the following additional arguments with respect to Counts One, Two and Three: the rule of lenity, the doctrine of constitutional avoidance, the void-for-vagueness doctrine, constitutionally defective over-breadth and a civil immunity statute for online service providers. The Court refers to these collectively as the "Kitchen Sink" arguments.

[murraypaul]

The Judge didn't rule that Bitcoins were money, but that they had value:

Finally, with respect to Count Four, the defendant alleges that he cannot have engaged in money laundering because all transactions occurred through the use of Bitcoin and thus there was therefore no legally cognizable "financial transaction." The court disagrees. Bitcoins carry value - that is their purpose and function - and act as a medium of exchange. Bitcoins may be exchanged for legal tender, be it U.S. dollars, Euros of some other currency. Accordingly, this argument fails.