Law Library of Congress releases report on Bitcoin's legal status around the world
The question of how to legally account for Bitcoin is becoming more urgent as adoption of the virtual currency spreads and Bitcoin-related companies come under legal scrutiny. But for users and entrepreneurs, the global legal landscape is murky at best.
More and more governments are coming out with semi-official opinions on how the virtual currency Bitcoin should be treated under the law. Many countries such as Germany have explicitly stated that Bitcoin is not legal tender and cannot be used to pay taxes, while others such as Canada have said that taxes must be paid on income earned in Bitcoin. But most countries are in wait-and-see mode: "At the moment, we’re studying Bitcoin and we have no plan to issue a regulation on it," a spokesperson for the Bank of Indonesia told the Jakarta Globe in December.
At the urging of Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), the chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Law Library of Congress has surveyed 40 jurisdictions and the European Union to see which ones have set down rules for Bitcoin.
http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/3/5374562/law-library-of-congress-releases-report-on-bitcoins-legal-status
