Before Satoshi Nakamoto was able to figure out the right recipe for decentralizing currency, there were several attempts at centralized online currencies, or ‘internet money,’ unaffiliated with any state. The last of the bunch to thrive outside of the U.S. financial framework was the Costa Rican startup Liberty Reserve, which was taken down in 2013. Friday’s sentencing of the corporations founder, Arthur Budovsky, landed him in a U.S. prison for 20 years, and requires him to pay a US$500,000 fine for the crime of money laundering.
http://bravenewcoin.com/news/liberty-reserve-court-case-marks-the-dawn-of-a-new-era
