Bitcoin and Regulations

[iamTom123]

The most dangerous attack against Bitcoin is the "carrot": the promise of respectability. The cryptocurrency community wants the blockchain and its currencies to be widely accepted. Some want to expand freedom on an individual-by-individual basis until liberty wins the world. Others believe their holdings and investments will soar in value as governments and institutions become users. And respectability is viewed as the key to increasing value.

Unfortunately, “respectability” is becoming a synonym for “state-sanctioned” when the two terms should be viewed as antonyms. Bitcoin was needed precisely because governments and their associated institutions were looting the wealth of the average person through currency manipulation, inflation, obstructive regulation, taxes and other financial sleight-of-hand. They shut people out of prosperity through licensing, patents, artificial credit and investment restrictions, monopolies and other self-serving obstacles. Governments are the problem; they are not the solution and they never will be. They are the Power side of “the great conflict which is eternally waged” for Liberty. State sanction should mean “shame” and not “respectability.”

An added insult is the clear implication that freedom is not respectable, that freedom and respectability are in conflict with each other. This is a false dichotomy. The opposite is true. Nothing is more respectable than the sight of human beings dealing peacefully and honestly with other to mutual advantage. What governments contribute is violence or the threat of it.

The material is taken from here...

We all want Bitcoin to one day be part of the mainstream but along the way it can mean compromises with the government that can be also concern that they can't control and manipulate the whole thing so they come up with regulations on its use and movement. There are , of course, many grounds why would the government want to put up  regulations and some can be valid while others can be creepy (though of course they are not showing them).

Now, am wondering, if we go for regulations...does it mean we are actually making the Bitcoin movement less potent and possibly compromise the very reasons why it is existing?

[hatshepsut93]

The government is not going to ask us if we want to have Bitcoin regulated or outlawed - there is no official representative, no Bitcoin CEO, no Bitcoin citizens that could vote - regulations are going to happen regardless of what community wants. But everyone will have a choice - either to comply with regulations, pay your taxes, reveal your identity or use Bitcoin on gray markets. Bitcoin is like cash of the Internet - you are free to spend it however you like and no one can block your transactions unless you are using online wallets.

[jseverson]

Now, am wondering, if we go for regulations...does it mean we are actually making the Bitcoin movement less potent and possibly compromise the very reasons why it is existing?

It's quite a dilemma. Government acceptance would mean we would be a step closer to mass adoption, but it would also mean there would be government regulations. Governments can't endorse a technology to its citizens and not be able to protect them from it, and they certainly won't allow that much money to flow without them getting a cut. On the other hand, operating from a legal gray area is enough to discourage majority of the population from getting into it. If we want Bitcoin to spread, then governments will get involved. It's an inevitability, and sadly, we don't have a say in it.

As far as the reason for its existence goes, Satoshi described it as a "system for electronic transactions without relying on trust." That should hold even when under regulation. It's also worth mentioning that Bitcoin wasn't designed to be completely anonymous.

[Ucy]

Honestly, Regulations of Bitcoin by government makes no sense. What really do they want to Regulate?

I'd bet what they mean by "Regulations"  is the ability to have total control of Bitcoin or better still the ability to Manipulate price, split, control and confisticate your Bitcoin whenever they want.

[xiboothrezi]

right. it is a dilemma. legalized or not. The challenge for policymakers, as it always does, is to develop efficient solutions without hindering the growth of newly emerging businesses and markets.

[nominee]

The government is not going to ask us if we want to have Bitcoin regulated or outlawed - there is no official representative, no Bitcoin CEO, no Bitcoin citizens that could vote - regulations are going to happen regardless of what community wants. But everyone will have a choice - either to comply with regulations, pay your taxes, reveal your identity or use Bitcoin on gray markets. Bitcoin is like cash of the Internet - you are free to spend it however you like and no one can block your transactions unless you are using online wallets.

That's the point of view for the actual problem. As it's decentralized, there is no representative and governments will take actions by themselves without asking anything to the society of bitcoin. This is a little problematic for the users.

In the future, we can see lots of countries are banning bitcoin in order to regulate it.

[speedy963]

The government is not going to ask us if we want to have Bitcoin regulated or outlawed - there is no official representative, no Bitcoin CEO, no Bitcoin citizens that could vote - regulations are going to happen regardless of what community wants. But everyone will have a choice - either to comply with regulations, pay your taxes, reveal your identity or use Bitcoin on gray markets. Bitcoin is like cash of the Internet - you are free to spend it however you like and no one can block your transactions unless you are using online wallets.

I certainly agree with your opinion. It is because of no head on bitcoin, majority woud be decided on what would be the public's demand or should we say users and investors of bitcoin, and aside from that if it is going to happen then it will be.

[Allan Ramanda]

in my country anything to do with a project or a foreign company must follow the rules of government in my country. let alone this is related to the digital currency is bitcoin. surely every country will interfere with this bitcoin. because this will affect the income of citizens

[Ucy]

in my country anything to do with a project or a foreign company must follow the rules of government in my country. let alone this is related to the digital currency is bitcoin. surely every country will interfere with this bitcoin. because this will affect the income of citizens

The best your government can do is to "ban" Bitcoin/Cryptocurrency in your country...  that's all and the rest of the World moves on.
As for regulating it, it's not going to be possible to regulate any "Cryptocurrency". People who talk about regulating Cryptocurrency don't actually know what they are talking about.
I bet in 10years we would still be here talking about regulating Bitcoin.

Am predicting that Bitcoin/Cryptocurrencies/Blockchain will end up Regulating our Countries instead.

[cryptojac17]

The government is not going to ask us if we want to have Bitcoin regulated or outlawed - there is no official representative, no Bitcoin CEO, no Bitcoin citizens that could vote - regulations are going to happen regardless of what community wants. But everyone will have a choice - either to comply with regulations, pay your taxes, reveal your identity or use Bitcoin on gray markets. Bitcoin is like cash of the Internet - you are free to spend it however you like and no one can block your transactions unless you are using online wallets.

Yeah this is the real freedom as we speak because BTC is just a virtual you cannot touch it just a cash in the internet. The question who will represent in behalf of BTC in a country trying to regulate BTC. Because at the start this currency was started by unknown personality, just called himself Satoshi Nakamoto. if you earn BTC incognito to the eyes government taxes nothing can reveal you but if you’re a good citizen of a country is up to you how you will give tax of your earnings.

[hatshepsut93]

The government is not going to ask us if we want to have Bitcoin regulated or outlawed - there is no official representative, no Bitcoin CEO, no Bitcoin citizens that could vote - regulations are going to happen regardless of what community wants. But everyone will have a choice - either to comply with regulations, pay your taxes, reveal your identity or use Bitcoin on gray markets. Bitcoin is like cash of the Internet - you are free to spend it however you like and no one can block your transactions unless you are using online wallets.

Yeah this is the real freedom as we speak because BTC is just a virtual you cannot touch it just a cash in the internet. The question who will represent in behalf of BTC in a country trying to regulate BTC. Because at the start this currency was started by unknown personality, just called himself Satoshi Nakamoto. if you earn BTC incognito to the eyes government taxes nothing can reveal you but if you’re a good citizen of a country is up to you how you will give tax of your earnings.

It really depends on what do you exactly mean by saying "represent Bitcoin". If you mean who will represent the interests of Bitcoin users in parliament, then you can find at least a few MP's who are pro-crypto in almost any country. On a purely technical level, Bitcoin is a decentralized protocol and it can't be regulated from within and no one can represent it as its owner - even Bitcoin developers. If Bitcoin users and services will be subject to regulations, they will have to represent themselves, there will be no intermediaries.
It may be possible to secretly earn Bitcoin, but as soon as you start spending it in huge amounts, it will attract attention from tax authorities. And public blockchain can make the job much easier than investigating cash sometimes.

[pikebu]

Will be difficult to bitcoin be regulated by government on every countries because bitcoin is decentralize even right now the government of India with India Central Bank ‘In Process’ of Making Bitcoin Regulation, Withholds Details https://cointelegraph.com/news/india-central-bank-in-process-of-making-bitcoin-regulation-withholds-details
india has refused to comment on its progress with cryptocurrency regulation, only appearing to confirm that official plans were “in progress" it is mean bitcoin is hard to be regulated.

[Wind_FURY]

OP, they can do what they want. Regulate it, call it their own, invest in it, anything. But what they cannot do is control it. If Bitcoin was regulated today and the government says you cannot make deposits in an illegal gambling site or the dark markets. How can they stop you from sending your coins anywhere you want?

"Regulations" are one thing, making it happen is another.

The best attempt to "control" Bitcoin is the hard fork to Segwit2x. If that happens then we the users all lose.

[krauzzer02]

As long as the bitcoin is anonymous and it is the internet of money over the blockchain technology the regulations will be futile otherwise you are using an online app or browser type of wallet that you do not posses your own private key then some regulatory measures can apply. Government can ban the use of bitcoin by taking down local exchanges and websites that cater the transaction of BTC however it all depends to you or the individuals who use btc, as long as the bitcoin itself has no central authority that manage and control the regulations imposed will be useless to the community.

[Don Pedro Dinero]

The government is not going to ask us if we want to have Bitcoin regulated or outlawed - there is no official representative, no Bitcoin CEO, no Bitcoin citizens that could vote - regulations are going to happen regardless of what community wants. But everyone will have a choice - either to comply with regulations, pay your taxes, reveal your identity or use Bitcoin on gray markets. Bitcoin is like cash of the Internet - you are free to spend it however you like and no one can block your transactions unless you are using online wallets.

This.

We would be very naive if we believed that governments are going to turn their back on btc and cryptos forever. We have no choice on what they will do. Years ago, they didn’t care because market cap was not important but nowadays they are becoming too important to let them escape from the system.

Once regulated they will get a boost because many people who fear cryptos market nowadays will start using them. Most of them will comply regulations and will pay tax but those who want to escape from the system will have ways, as it happens with cash nowadays.

[gribble]

The government will always try to regulation of bitcoin and getting the taxes from it, for example right now Russia’s regulators have revealed how they plan to find and tax cryptocurrency miners as well as license them. This follows their meeting with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. At the meeting, they agreed to regulate cryptocurrency mining, alongside cryptocurrencies themselves including bitcoin. Last week, the finance ministry proposed creating a registry of crypto miners. https://news.bitcoin.com/russian-regulators-tax-license-cryptocurrency-miners/ the world always try getting our money include our bitcoin.

[YuginKadoya]

The government will always try to regulation of bitcoin and getting the taxes from it, for example right now Russia’s regulators have revealed how they plan to find and tax cryptocurrency miners as well as license them. This follows their meeting with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. At the meeting, they agreed to regulate cryptocurrency mining, alongside cryptocurrencies themselves including bitcoin. Last week, the finance ministry proposed creating a registry of crypto miners. https://news.bitcoin.com/russian-regulators-tax-license-cryptocurrency-miners/ the world always try getting our money include our bitcoin.

The Government would sure Find ways in regulating and taxing bitcoin, I really think this will be fair with regular employee's, businessmen, and everybody that has business involving fiat currency because they are all giving tax that is needed in the amount of salary they have, I really think it is OK to implement this but in a way that it can be fair to everybody and I think it will need everybody's opinion with this because bitcoin is not own by only one person and that will be very hard to regulate.

[TheUltraElite]

Governments can prosecute those who are using bitcoin by using snooping software like they always do. In a word no one is safe from the snooping tactics as long as they are alive. But people are going to find out workarounds soon enough if that happens. Governments know that bitcoin is a threat to the banks and are not always ready to accept blockchain technology into their system. So people will become anarchic at one point and this is bad in one sense. If the cryptocurrencies take over the economy and the people are also controlled without causing anarchy then it can be a better situation.

[malikusama]

Nothing wrong if bitcoin is being regulated by the government, the main reason to support regulation is there would be control over the illegal use of bitcoins which is becoming a major issue. So if i am not doing anything wrong while using bitcoins, i should not be afraid of regulation.
And a very wrong perception of people about regulation that government will get control over bitcoin and its price, no way bitcoin is decentralized and will always be like that, there will be no central authority which will take control over it.

[gribble]

The government will always try to regulation of bitcoin and getting the taxes from it, for example right now Russia’s regulators have revealed how they plan to find and tax cryptocurrency miners as well as license them. This follows their meeting with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. At the meeting, they agreed to regulate cryptocurrency mining, alongside cryptocurrencies themselves including bitcoin. Last week, the finance ministry proposed creating a registry of crypto miners. https://news.bitcoin.com/russian-regulators-tax-license-cryptocurrency-miners/ the world always try getting our money include our bitcoin.

The Government would sure Find ways in regulating and taxing bitcoin, I really think this will be fair with regular employee's, businessmen, and everybody that has business involving fiat currency because they are all giving tax that is needed in the amount of salary they have, I really think it is OK to implement this but in a way that it can be fair to everybody and I think it will need everybody's opinion with this because bitcoin is not own by only one person and that will be very hard to regulate.

Yes i agree as good people on the country we must pay the taxes to our country, but the problem is there are no transparant in management of the money from our taxes, even the money be corrupted on some countries, it is not fair for the good people who pay the taxes for the government, will be more fair if the management of taxes addopt technology of blockchain, it will gives us more transparant what will be done with the money that be paid from taxes.