How do you feel about market regulation?

[Rage]

There's been a lot of talk about submitting the Bitcoin economy to governmental regulation and, frankly, it scares the hell out of me. One of the reasons I'm so excited about Bitcoin is because it presents the same promise of a fully free market that cash does without all the problems surrounding a fiat currency.

Personally, I am strongly against Bitcoin regulation. I believe the market is completely capable of caring for itself and regulation would simply expand government intrusion into people lives. I can see no benefit and a lot of detriment.

What do you think? Do you think the Bitcoin economy should be regulated? If so, to what extent?

Rage

[1714192550]

1714192550

[1714192550]

1714192550

[bitrain]

Never ever. And impossible. Period.
 Thank you .

[hugolp]

The system we got is the system we got, and we have to work with it.

I personally think that regulations over the exchanges would be a positive thing as it would give Bitcoin a more respectable appearance from the point of view of a lot of people. And once Bitcoin goes big politicians will have a hard time taking it down. Also, its not like we have a choice: when the government comes down to regulate the exchanges, what are they going to say? No thanks, we want to remain unregulated... I can almost hear the laughter of the regulators. So, as it is going to happen anyways, at least trying to work how it is done.

The advantage of Bitcoin from an anarchist point of view, is that it allows for black markets on the Internet, which previously was only possible with cash. F.e. in my country the stimations say around 20% of the economy is black market. Bitcoin will allow this on the Internet. But for that you need a door from and to the system.

[evoorhees]

Good question OP.

Bitcoin should not be regulated in any way, period. However, it will be, and this doesn't bother me because deep down it cannot be regulated and we know that. So let the stupid senators make their laws regarding the exchanges and money laundering and blah blah blah. The fact that I can keep my coins secret, on a thumb drive, and transfer them across the world with nobody knowing means I care not what laws are plastered upon Mt. Gox.

And strategically speaking, if the politicians go ahead and regulate parts of bitcoin, it will lend it legitimacy and help it become even more ingrained in the economy. It will build and build. This is much better than if the politicians outlaw it fully... and we know they'll either regulate or outlaw, so I prefer the former.

And again, we know the meaningful essence of btc cannot be regulated anyway

[mikeintimesaves9]

...I personally think that regulations over the exchanges would be a positive thing as it would give Bitcoin a more respectable appearance from the point of view of a lot of people...

The other alternative for exchanges outside of a government body would be self-regulation.  If an exchange participates in a self-regulation organization and follows a set of established best practices, the exchange would get a stamp of approval to publicize to customers and improve credibility.  Over time, exchanges that participate would most likely gain share faster than ones that did not abide by the exchange industry's best practices in security, third-party auditing, claims handling, etc.

Separately, while there is a lot of animosity in the BTC community regarding the US financial system, the FDIC and SIPC seem to be good ideas that may make sense to implement for exchanges and other eWallet providers that hold customer funds.  These organizations provide insurance in the event of bankruptcy of a deposit-holding company, reimbursing customer for their lost funds up to a certain amount.  This might also give newbies more faith in the system.

[hugolp]

The other alternative for exchanges outside of a government body would be self-regulation.  If an exchange participates in a self-regulation organization and follows a set of established best practices, the exchange would get a stamp of approval to publicize to customers and improve credibility.  Over time, exchanges that participate would most likely gain share faster than ones that did not abide by the exchange industry's best practices in security, third-party auditing, claims handling, etc.

Im not discussing which system is best. I personally distrust any regulated system. But in the eyes of a lot of people a regulated exchange has more credibility.

Separately, while there is a lot of animosity in the BTC community regarding the US financial system, the FDIC and SIPC seem to be good ideas that may make sense to implement for exchanges and other eWallet providers that hold customer funds.  These organizations provide insurance in the event of bankruptcy of a deposit-holding company, reimbursing customer for their lost funds up to a certain amount.  This might also give newbies more faith in the system.

The FDIC and SIPC are horrible ideas because protects reckless business. The exchanges doing it voluntarely would be a different issue since they would have the incentive to police each other to avoid someone abusing, because they would have to pay for it.

[bitrain]

Anyway, it would be appropriate to have several non-profit organizations to be so-called market-regulators. It may increase the trust for newcomers, I guess.

[naturallaw]

The market will regulate itself, we can't stop stupid people from being stupid unfortunately. We will see better exchanges, Mt Gox's days I feel are numbered, unless they can step up their game. Although, ironically, I think one barrier to stopping Bitcoins from really taking off (the other just being the immaturity of the market) is the threat of government regulation. Why would an established legitimate business adopt Bitcoins if there is any threat from government regulation or outright outlaw. Sure, they can't stop Bitcoin from operating undercover, but they can stop those with business licenses from using it.

[pangu]

Binance panics because of upcoming regulation: https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/04/01/binance-fights-increasing-regulation

[DJCanh]

Crypto was made like anti-real money
All real money regulated
And now, the market just need regulation of scam, not all this field

[pangu]

Crypto was made like anti-real money
All real money regulated
And now, the market just need regulation of scam, not all this field

that would be the perfect goal, but how would this work in practice rather in theory?

[alani123]

If governments around the world ever try to over regulate Bitcoin, they are going to end up contributing to tax avoidance and a market of grey market around it. Overall, the governments could lose out more by preventing the creation of legitimate businesses around bitcoin. In the end, it would be a loss. So regulators are thankfully careful with how they treat Bitcoin.

[Fasunathan]

Crypto was made like anti-real money
All real money regulated
And now, the market just need regulation of scam, not all this field

Yes, when they say regulate bitcoin, i think they mean that they want to regulate the cryptocurrency exchanges. If they will implement this regulation on exchanges i think if would benefit the users because this could mean that scam and fraud in the exchanges will be prevented.

[zhanyiguai261315]

Regulation can effectively protect the interests of investment!

Because some ico projects are fraudulent, regulation can make them impossible!

Investors can better invest and make better use of better investment!

[moynul2050]

Regulation can effectively protect the interests of investment!

Because some ico projects are fraudulent, regulation can make them impossible!

Investors can better invest and make better use of better investment!

As the State of China is currently doing it, they are doing it to protect investors in response to the rampant ICO fraud.
As long as the goal is good, why not.

[Basmic]

I have a negative attitude towards state regulation. This can significantly reduce the number of users of cryptocurrencies and ICO. I dream of a time when bitcoin will really be decentralized and anonymous. Perhaps he will get the properties of the currency and then we will be able to abandon Fiat. It's gonna be a party for me.

[Neutrality]

I think it's a double-edged sword. On one hand, governmental regulation is a bad thing because it interferes in the free market. On the other hand, official acceptance and clear rules of the game can attract big investors who are currently apprehensive about investing in crypto and consequently the whole sphere would be able to expand.

[Hell-raiser]

There's been a lot of talk about submitting the Bitcoin economy to governmental regulation and, frankly, it scares the hell out of me. One of the reasons I'm so excited about Bitcoin is because it presents the same promise of a fully free market that cash does without all the problems surrounding a fiat currency.

Personally, I am strongly against Bitcoin regulation. I believe the market is completely capable of caring for itself and regulation would simply expand government intrusion into people lives. I can see no benefit and a lot of detriment.

What do you think? Do you think the Bitcoin economy should be regulated? If so, to what extent?

There is no simple answer if you are looking for it. Without regulation there will be an incessant flow of scams, it is kind of given. They will be there anyway, with or without government regulation, but their sheer numbers will go down. On the other hand, attempts to regulate something which strongly defies any regulation by its very nature may lead to outright bans because there might not be a middle ground. It will be either massively restricted and completely unrestricted, that is unregulated.

I think it's a double-edged sword. On one hand, governmental regulation is a bad thing because it interferes in the free market. On the other hand, official acceptance and clear rules of the game can attract big investors who are currently apprehensive about investing in crypto and consequently the whole sphere would be able to expand.

Agree with this point.

[Eijrafarm]

There's been a lot of talk about submitting the Bitcoin economy to governmental regulation and, frankly, it scares the hell out of me. One of the reasons I'm so excited about Bitcoin is because it presents the same promise of a fully free market that cash does without all the problems surrounding a fiat currency.

Personally, I am strongly against Bitcoin regulation. I believe the market is completely capable of caring for itself and regulation would simply expand government intrusion into people lives. I can see no benefit and a lot of detriment.

What do you think? Do you think the Bitcoin economy should be regulated? If so, to what extent?

Rage

Well, I don't think it would be beneficial for the investor if regulation will to happen. In fact the theme for a decentralized market will probably change and it is not the essence of BTC that we are longing for. Regulation will only benefit the government side which will complicate more problem inside the market.

[richardsNY]

I think it's a double-edged sword. On one hand, governmental regulation is a bad thing because it interferes in the free market. On the other hand, official acceptance and clear rules of the game can attract big investors who are currently apprehensive about investing in crypto and consequently the whole sphere would be able to expand.

There will always be a free market, regulations won't and can't mess with that on a decentralized level. I quite often read how people don't like regulations, but want institutions to inflate this market to the moon, which makes them nothing more than hypocrites. This market needs to mature properly, where especially the exchanges need to go through a massive makeover in order to attract professional parties. I am waiting for the day where current exchanges are no longer private parties, but part of the portfolio of financial institutions just like how Poloniex has been acquired recently, where Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are the main figures letting their reputation speak for themselves. And yes, JPMorgan isn't exactly the main favorite here after Jamie Dimon spoke out negatively, but people should know that it was just a manipulation attempt, that semi worked.