@CryptoCommodity: Others have made the same comment you have regarding fiat vs. not. See
http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=6247. I agreed to change it in the next draft, but its far from a "fatal flaw" when in the same paragraph I clearly explain what I mean by that term. Your argument regarding bitcoins not being a security is not convincing because you are not engaged in legal analysis. Instead, you are saying, "does this feel like a security? Obviously not." That kind of thinking is relevant and and important but never dispositive. Instead, one must turn to the language of the statute itself, the relevant cases that have interpreted those statutes, and legislative history and other clues that help indicate what the legislatures purpose was. Another lawyer has written a post disagreeing with my conclusion about bitcoins being a security, but he used the same methods I did: methodical legal analysis. See
http://www.lextechnologiae.com/2011/06/26/why-bitcoin-isnt-a-security-under-federal-securities-law/.
@Big Time Coin: If you had taken a look at my paper you would have seen that I thoroughly covered the Liberty Dollar "travesty." In fact, I looked at the laws and the case filings. I called the prosecutor and also spoke to Bernard von NotHaus. That case has _nothing_ to do with alternative currencies. It's about NotHaus and his associates defrauding people. More importantly, if _you_ had read the counterfeiting statutes that the Act refers to, you would see that they all only apply to metal money and have no application to Bitcoin. Thus, their repeal is irrelevant to Bitcoin.
MsBitcoin's response to your last paragraph is on point. Nothing in Ron Paul's act would be directly relevant to bitcoins except the repeal of legal tender laws. Even the tax section likely does not apply to bitcoins because that section is clearly aimed at _metal_ coins. The only general word in that list is "coin" and when reading statutes, general words are generally read to be limited by those in a list with it. Thus, the fact that bitcoin has the word "coin" in it is irrelevant.
