NY just announced a MANDATORY Bitcoin license - if this concerns you sign this.

[hellscabane]

The reactions in these posts and just the idea of this law really shows something interesting that's getting more and more pronounced: we really are at a crossroads.

I personally am okay with working within the frame of the structure because to me that's the best way to enact acceptance and un-muddle the waters surrounding Bitcoins. I wouldn't be surprised if this actually supports the Bitcoin economy because there is a working legal structure tied to Bitcoin in some way.

Or maybe it's all craziness...

[misternanyte]

If the regulation of Bitcoin concerns you, please sign this letter to regulator Ben Lawsky


http://bitcoinfinancialassociation.org/regulation/

I thought the whole point was to get Bitcoin finally regulated

No you fucking moron. The whole reason bitcoin was invented was to AVOID government tampering. Now we can't use bitcoin for it's intended purpose - which was to GET AROUND THE BANKS and their control of the value of the money.

Good job, you fucking morons.

I miss the early days when the community was largely made up of people with a revolutionary mindset.

Now it's just a bunch of douchebags (Lawsky) in suits trying to find a way to gain money and power from cryptos.

Fortunately for us, they can't really break our network protocol despite bugs.

[newguy05]

At the risk of offending the anarchists, this regulation is a major step forward for bitcoin. It will provide a LEGAL framework and guideline for business in NY to accept bitcoin without fear of prosecution, it is significant progress to popularize the acceptance of bitcoin. And even more important, it will provide a blueprint for other states to follow once they see how NY - the financial capital, has regulated bitcoin.

As much as you all like to tell the government to fuck off, the reality is we (well most of us) still live within a complex world governed by law and regulations. Large business in this country will not widely accept bitcoins until the government tells them it is okie. 

So i view this as progress and a major step forward for bitcoin.

[BTCLuke]

I don't make the laws.

I just try to obey them.

Every time you post I get flashbacks to the Nuremburg trials...

[marcus_of_augustus]

At the risk of offending the anarchists, this regulation is a major step forward for bitcoin. It will provide a LEGAL framework and guideline for business in NY to accept bitcoin without fear of prosecution, it is significant progress to popularize the acceptance of bitcoin. And even more important, it will provide a blueprint for other states to follow once they see how NY - the financial capital, has regulated bitcoin.

As much as you all like to tell the government to fuck off, the reality is we (well most of us) still live within a complex world governed by law and regulations. Large business in this country will not widely accept bitcoins until the government tells them it is okie.  

So i view this as progress and a major step forward for bitcoin.

This is where you are entirely wrong and have fallen into the illusion propagated by regulators that they make laws.
They are glorified policeman, they interpret and enforce the laws, with increasing arbitrariness and capriciousness.

Lawsky is a cop.

Legislature and the courts make the laws, not the cops.

The "legal framework" you seek has to come from the people and their representatives in power and justice system, not from the foot soldiers of the powerful and the banksters who have infiltrated every level of the cop bureaucracy.

Jamie Dimon was crystal clear, he wants bitcoin regulated into irrelevancy. I don't know which one of you missed that comment and still 'welcomes' bitcoin regulation.

The craven politicians and judges have to step up and be brave ... are they really prepared to license bits? Are they really going to sanction the financial totalitarianism desired by their paymasters?

[BruceFenton]

Good point ---  since when do we have a situation where regulators can make laws anyway?

Laws should be made by ELECTED representatives.

The NY State House or the US Congress should be the one to make laws which affect so many, not an unelected body.

[BruceFenton]

There is a guy down the street who I am really afraid will beat me with a stick when I am out for a jog or grabbing a coffee.

So, because I am so terribly afraid of this man with the stick, my solution is that I am going to knock on his door and ask him to beat me so that I'll know when he is going to beat me and in hopes that he won't want to beat me more.


..... this is what is going through my head when I hear people say. "We need regulation because it's the best way to get clarity"


No.   CLARITY is the best way to get clarity.   Ask the regulators exactly what actions related to Bitcoin will result in Bitcoin users being imprisoned or having their property seized.   That's it.

The destructive power of regulators on innovation is something a lot of people don't understand.

[bitpop]

.

[DoctorOz]

If the regulation of Bitcoin concerns you, please sign this letter to regulator Ben Lawsky


http://bitcoinfinancialassociation.org/regulation/

I thought the whole point was to get Bitcoin finally regulated

No you fucking moron. The whole reason bitcoin was invented was to AVOID government tampering. Now we can't use bitcoin for it's intended purpose - which was to GET AROUND THE BANKS and their control of the value of the money.

Good job, you fucking morons.

+1

but isn't the idea behind bitcoins that it is a self regulated currency?  I mean, if someone has the power to oversee this currency, then it's no different to what exists now?

[BCB]

If the regulation of Bitcoin concerns you, please sign this letter to regulator Ben Lawsky


http://bitcoinfinancialassociation.org/regulation/

I thought the whole point was to get Bitcoin finally regulated

No you fucking moron. The whole reason bitcoin was invented was to AVOID government tampering. Now we can't use bitcoin for it's intended purpose - which was to GET AROUND THE BANKS and their control of the value of the money.

Good job, you fucking morons.

+1

but isn't the idea behind bitcoins that it is a self regulated currency?  I mean, if someone has the power to oversee this currency, then it's no different to what exists now?

Bitcoin the protocol is self regulating as we have been watching in real time with the current transaction malleability issue.  How Bitcoin interacts with the existing financial system is HIGHLY regulated by many governments and agencies.

[BruceFenton]

Just to be clear, the letter / petition is AGAINST BITCOIN REGULATION AND A BITCOIN LICENCE.

With so many quotes and inclusions I wanted to make sure no one confused the letter we wrote to Mr. Lawsky which is AGAINST regulation with so,e of the commenters who think regulation is a good idea.

If you DONT want to see a Bitcoin license or at least want to see as many limits as possible on regs, please sign the letter and join us.

http://bitcoinfinancialassociation.org/regulation/

[newguy05]

At the risk of offending the anarchists, this regulation is a major step forward for bitcoin. It will provide a LEGAL framework and guideline for business in NY to accept bitcoin without fear of prosecution, it is significant progress to popularize the acceptance of bitcoin. And even more important, it will provide a blueprint for other states to follow once they see how NY - the financial capital, has regulated bitcoin.

As much as you all like to tell the government to fuck off, the reality is we (well most of us) still live within a complex world governed by law and regulations. Large business in this country will not widely accept bitcoins until the government tells them it is okie.  

So i view this as progress and a major step forward for bitcoin.

This is where you are entirely wrong and have fallen into the illusion propagated by regulators that they make laws.
They are glorified policeman, they interpret and enforce the laws, with increasing arbitrariness and capriciousness.

Lawsky is a cop.

Legislature and the courts make the laws, not the cops.

The "legal framework" you seek has to come from the people and their representatives in power and justice system, not from the foot soldiers of the powerful and the banksters who have infiltrated every level of the bureaucracy.

Jamie Dimon was crystal clear, he wants bitcoin regulated into irrelevancy. I don't know which one of you missed that comment and still 'welcomes' bitcoin regulation.

The craven politicians and judges have to step up and be brave ... are they really prepared to license bits? Are they really going to sanction the financial totalitarianism desired by their paymasters?

You are missing the entire point, no member of congress will take that kind of political risk and introduce a bill on bitcoin, not until AFTER it is popular and widely used with strong public backing.

But in order to get to that step, business both large and small need guideline from the government whether federal or state to provide the confidence, the regulation they are trying to introduce in ny is an important first step to provide that confidence and roadmap for business to start accepting bitcoins. The laws will come only later, you need to walk before you can run.

And i completely disagree that you can "regulate bitcoin into irrelevancy" short of a outright ban which noone is suggesting in the usa. It is by design anonymous with significant advantage over fiat for online payments/money transport.  What regulation will do is allow business and banks to accept bitcoins, and legit broker dealers to start trading it. Those need to be regulated, and that's fine.

You already see what damage shady exchanges like mtgox can do to bitcoins.  I have said this back in 2011 and i will say again, a stable legit exchange between bticoin and fiat is the single most important factor for bitcoin to gain popularity, we need big players like interactive broker and oanda to add bitcoins.  None of this can happen without above mentioned regulations.

So if you truly want bitcoin to gain popularity and become the defacto global currency, you need to welcome regulation, because the world is run by governments and regulations (sorry to break reality to you). Otherwise bitcoin will only exist in the shadows with shady basement dealers/exchanges that go under every few months.

[howardb]

the NY guys are only PLANNING to licence businesses that convert bitcoins to dollars. the regulation will remain at the FIAT gateways. this is not bitcoin regulation, this is FIAT regulation

And looking at how the exchanges have behaved so far globally, I for one would switch in a heartbeat to a properly regulated US based exchange over the mt.Goxes of this world!! Some regulation = good, no regulation = anarchy.

[BruceFenton]

If you want to see less Mt Gox type situations then we need to see more professional VCs and serious investor teams....they are driven away by over regulation.

I saw Jeremy Allaire from Circle speak on Tuesday....he said a third of the $9 mm he raised will go to lawyers.

Who the heck wants to put $3 mm in the pockets of lawyers on an already risky investment?

I'd never make that deal.   I'd rather invest in a firm where the $3mm goes to hire genius engineers who make stuff and solve problems.

[BCB]

FinCen with their March 18th Guidance put Virtual Currency in the category of non-bank financial institution.

With the classification Virtual Currency businesses are now  beholden to many of the laws and regulation that exist for many other types of financial intuitions.

So not only will that require lawyers.

It will also require compliance officers and other administrators to manage the many and various regulations with which they are now required to comply.

What New York does won't change that.

Hopefully it will help lower the barrier of entry for smaller fintech startups until they are able to scale.

 

[BruceFenton]

FinCen with their March 18th Guidance put Virtual Currency in the category of non-bank financial institution.

With the classification Virtual Currency businesses are now  beholden to many of the laws and regulation that exist for many other types of financial intuitions.

So not only will that require lawyers.

It will also require compliance officers and other administrators to manage the many and various regulations with which they are now required to comply.

What New York does won't change that.

Hopefully it will help lower the barrier of entry for smaller fintech startups until they are able to scale.

 

All the more reason for NY to not do anything else new in the area as far as new regs.

[BruceFenton]

Planning to regulate basically is regulation.  They have essentially said they WILL have the announcement.  The language they have used is about as strong as it comes.

[Bitcoinpro]

Fake! the Cryptocurrency Constitution protects citizens and any such regulation will be handled properly

and will be distributed to the Crypto community in an appropriate way not to affect the integrity of Crypto's

[BCB]

Fake! the Cryptocurrency Constitution protects citizens and any such regulation will be handled properly

and will be distributed to the Crypto community in an appropriate way not to affect the integrity of Crypto's

You should spend more time updating your website:
http://www.cryptocurrencycentralbank.com/

"Bitcoin is the most valuable crypto currency avaliable to consumers and the most widely traded, the current US dollar price of 1 Bitcoin (BTC) is $1025.50 7th January 2014."

Or at least ping an exchange and update the price automatically.

[BruceFenton]

Fake! the Cryptocurrency Constitution protects citizens and any such regulation will be handled properly

and will be distributed to the Crypto community in an appropriate way not to affect the integrity of Crypto's

If a jurisdiction makes severe regs against Bitcoin then VCs, investors and entreprenuers won't feel protected by the Crypto Constitution which they likely have never heard of.