[2016-09-20]Bitcoin is Money, Rules Federal Judge in Landmark Case (JPM)

[WishICanTurnBackTime]

It might seem like a no-brainer that bitcoin is a type of currency, but legal and governmental entities have yet to agree on that. Whether bitcoin is money or not is the virtual currency's equivalent of the "Is Pluto a planet?" debate. In 2014, former NY Superintendent of Financial Services Benjamin Lawsky became the bane of bitcoin enthusiasts everywhere by famously complaining that bitcoin was "neither fish nor fowl." Confusingly, the IRS deemed in 2014 that bitcoin counted as "property" and not money for taxation purposes. (Investopedia has what may be the world's best U.S. Bitcoin Tax Guide, a must-read if you want to know how to legally declare your bitcoin holdings)

http://www.investopedia.com/news/bitcoin-money-rules-federal-judge-landmark-case-jpm/

[xdrzrex]

I believe there were announcements that Bitcoin is money in the US and EU before.

[richardsNY]

I believe there were announcements that Bitcoin is money in the US and EU before.

Well, it doesn't really matter what label people put on Bitcoin. For every person Bitcoin might be something else as they use Bitcoin in a different way. And yes, there have been several countries declaring Bitcoin in the category of being money. For the user this all doesn't matter since the far majority don't declare their Bitcoin holdings. There is no way for the governments to check who owns what in Bitcoin unless they force exchanges to release information.