Is Bitcoin finally legal in US?

[BestCryptoYear2020]

There were many events keep on happening in US justice department about bitcoin.
In some county its accepted for paying water bills and taxes.
In some places I have seen news US Fed wants to introduce new bill for legalization of bitcoin transactions.

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[teosanru]

There were many events keep on happening in US justice department about bitcoin.
In some county its accepted for paying water bills and taxes.
In some places I have seen news US Fed wants to introduce new bill for legalization of bitcoin transactions.

Every country wants to introduce new bills for bitcoin transactions but none of them have been successful so far. Talking about legality in US I think Bitcoin isn't illegal in US. As per the stats available around the web U.S. Treasury Classified Bitcoin as decentralized virtual currency way back in 2013 and after that settled it as commodity in 2015. But after it has been incorporated with the FinCen the U.S. Judge in a very popular case quoted Bitcoin as

Bitcoins are funds within the plain meaning of that term

This means US recognize bitcoins as fund and there are no violations involved if you use it. But yes there isn't any full fledged bill upon this so far. 

[squatter]

It's never been illegal.

There were many events keep on happening in US justice department about bitcoin.

That's probably not going to end. They will keep going after Bitcoin exchanges and services who they believe are violating US laws.

In some places I have seen news US Fed wants to introduce new bill for legalization of bitcoin transactions.

That's not necessary since Bitcoin transactions are legal. The Fed also doesn't really participate in the legislative process.

They are looking into issuing their own digital currency, though.

[LeGaulois]

Bitcoin is legal there, citizens pay the same taxes, complete the same report and all transactions are subject to the same AML regulations.
The noise you heard from the FED was because of the pseudo-anonymity behind BTC that helps criminals etc as they think. Not worst than with USD but the goal is to create the fear to offer the solution later (the digital cash, centralized of course)

In some states, Bitcoin is totally unregulated, while in some there is a legislation, citizens pay the taxes, businesses may need the money transmitter licence, and so on...

[joelsamuya]

In my view, in USA Bitcoin is still in a vague position, not really so legal as there is still no law specifically for it or for cryptocurrency but the government is not considering the digital asset to be illegal hence the government is not banning its use and trade and of course the government is collecting taxes from the business arising from it. Eventually, as years will roll out, Bitcoin can be categorized as a legal form of payment at the right time, hope that by that time Bitcoin will still be alive and viable.

[CryptoBry]

In my view, in USA Bitcoin is still in a vague position, not really so legal as there is still no law specifically for it or for cryptocurrency but the government is not considering the digital asset to be illegal hence the government is not banning its use and trade and of course the government is collecting taxes from the business arising from it. Eventually, as years will roll out, Bitcoin can be categorized as a legal form of payment at the right time, hope that by that time Bitcoin will still be alive and viable.

I guess this is almost the same situation in many countries. In fact, there are some who are finding it hard on how to treat Bitcoin or cryptocurrency especially with taxation. Some countries considered Bitcoin akin to foreign exchange currency while there are those categorizing it as an asset in digital form. And we should not wonder on this because Bitcoin is still very young compared to state-released currencies all over the world. As a decentralized currency, there is no government that is handing and sponsoring Bitcoin hence we can not expect dramatic growth on its recognition and adoption. We are hoping though that in USA there will soon be clearer guidelines on the trading and use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. However, we have to remember that with recognition by the government, that can mean more regulations so this is where there can be a tug of war with different camps having different opinions and convictions.

[avikz]

There were many events keep on happening in US justice department about bitcoin.
In some county its accepted for paying water bills and taxes.
In some places I have seen news US Fed wants to introduce new bill for legalization of bitcoin transactions.

When it was illegal in US? I don't remember! Besides Japan, US is the only country which is working to make cryptos legal. However, the IRS keeps on re-inventing their approach towards crypto holdings and transactions of US citizens! Their tax laws are definitely harsher compared to many other countries, but cryptos were never illegal in US. It is just finding its way into mainstream economy now and hence you can see increasing number of activities around cryptos in US in recent times! The fact is that, cryptos are getting recognized more and more every single day, around the world and definitely in US.

[Kyraishi]

The thing is that it was never illegal. I'm not sure who and why anyone would tell you that bitcoin is illegal in the US.

BTC is not legal tender anywhere, which is understandable because public debts are supposed to be paid for with the respective fiat currencies of each country. However, just because a particular currency is not legal tender, doesn't automatically discount it from legal usage per se. This is where a lot of confusion arises.

So to be clear, no, BTC was never illegal to begin with.

[Theb]

Bitcoin's legality when it comes to it being a payment was never an issue in the United States, some states like Ohio even accepts Bitcoin as payments for their taxes. From what I see the most pressing issue they have so far are taxes itself involving crypto earnings where the IRS is seriously enforcing now as like what any governments will do they are trying to maximize the earnings they have on anything and that is including their crypto industry. So really if you are paying your taxes cirrectly and following all the rules and regulation in your state I wouldn't see you having problems in sending and receiving Bitcoin.

[1Referee]

So to be clear, no, BTC was never illegal to begin with.

People obedient to the state think otherwise unfortunately.

If you wait for approval in order to use Bitcoin in whatever shape or form, you don't understand Bitcoin. It's that simple. Bitcoin is designed to cut through the power central entities have over you. It's a blessing to possess such an asset, yet people are too brainwashed to realize that. There will be a time they will regret not having bought and held Bitcoin, but that's when it's too late.

I legit couldn't care less about what the rules are. I will never let a stupid law prevent me from using Bitcoin, the purest form of money.

[chaoscoinz]

2019 was a rough year for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency but it was expected because at that time, the regulatory bodies and policy makers where really starting to discuss and even take public action against Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Institutional investors also had tried numerous times to get a Bitcoin ETF passed but all have failed miserably, but not in vain though, the SEC has been working closely within the cyrpto sector especially regarding securities regulation. I believe that the U.S is at the forefront for taking the necessary steps forward to comply legally in order to get Bitcoin and cryptocurrency off of the ground.

[Getmon]

Last November of 2018, I read the news about Ohio accepting tax payments in Bitcoin. https://www.cleveland.com/news/2018/11/ohio-is-the-first-state-to-accept-bitcoin-tax-payments.html

This could only mean one thing: that Bitcoin is legal in the US. In other states wherein the laws do not specifically declare Bitcoin legal nor illegal, I suppose that means it is not illegal. Which further means it is legal.

[magneto]

Dunno who misinformed you, but bitcoin is not legal tender basically anywhere around the world.

As others have said though that doesn't make it illegal to use or hold at all. As long as you use it for legitimate purposes, just like you would with any other fiat, using it to settle private debts across the world is completely fine.

There's a difference between settlement of public and private debts. Public debts needs to be settled by legal tender currency, but private debts can be settled with anything, even with barter, as long it's not expressly prohibited by legislation.

[TinaK]

There were many events keep on happening in US justice department about bitcoin.
In some county its accepted for paying water bills and taxes.
In some places I have seen news US Fed wants to introduce new bill for legalization of bitcoin transactions.

Even in United States it is similar like every country. Cryptocurrency is not legal as well as it is not banned in most of the countries because many of the financial James also doesn't know how blockchain technology has been working without interventions and manual ledgers like how banking people doing it.
maybe very soon us will accept stable currencies alone I am not sure whether they will accept Bitcoin or other decentralized cryptocurrencies.

[chaoscoinz]

There were many events keep on happening in US justice department about bitcoin.
In some county its accepted for paying water bills and taxes.
In some places I have seen news US Fed wants to introduce new bill for legalization of bitcoin transactions.

I think that acceptance is here but actually having regulators and policymakers on the side of cryptocurrency side is another story. I think the only guy lobbying for crypto directly at congress is Mark Zuckerberg. He is leading the forefront on getting congress to change policy in order to push Facebooks Libra platform. The Libra platform is forcing congress to reconsiders how it views cryptocurrency because they're realizing if Libra was launched, it could disrupt a lot of financial systems around the world, being that Facebook has a global reach.

[diazepam666]

Bitcoin payments in the U.S. are subject to the same anti-money laundering regulations that apply to transactions in traditional currencies, and to payments by banks and other financial institutions.
But it's legal to buy and sell Bitcoins. Regulation laws are part of its legal status.

Even the countries not allowing buying and selling also doesn't give the any problems for the buyers and sellers. Unless and until the government understand the reality things, you will get the same benefits so nothing bigger to speak about it.

[hv_]

Hard question. It depends on its general purpose and use. If it helps ppl and regulators to live  in less crime die to Bitcoin s higher traceability , and  in peace.


I d ask, if it STAYS legal

[YOSHIE]

There were many events keep on happening in US justice department about bitcoin.

There is a separate reason Bitcoin is legal in the United States, for the current government, I see Bitcoin in the US has entered a better stage, when compared with other countries.

The best reason for the US government for its people is that the legal BTC is to make it easier for college payers and other bills of a general natur.

What's interesting again for me in the US right now is, for tourists to be able to show digital currencies visiting the US, this law has been in effect for the past two years, to be exact 2017 in May.
I'm sure the legal of Bitcoin in the US, in the future bitcoin users in the US will be the best in the world.

[Kemarit]

There were many events keep on happening in US justice department about bitcoin.
In some county its accepted for paying water bills and taxes.

Perhaps I was lucky enough to live in a country wherein Bitcoin can be used to pay bills, like internet, water and even electric. But I'm not aware of taxes though.

In some places I have seen news US Fed wants to introduce new bill for legalization of bitcoin transactions.

I guess it still boils down as to how US will view Bitcoin in the future. If they think that it is being misused by bad actors, they might introduce stricter regulations. But for now, US citizens can freely buy/sell trade Bitcoins, and btw, it isn't illegal to begin with.

[hv_]

I wonder what SEC and FinCen will sort out next few months

First: All coins came not for 0$ but sold by central entities for money >0$  ARE securities

No space to read existing rules different

Second: Protocols need to follow their legal speck, their White Paper, or sth different getting sold to clients

...

Third: Purpose features for mixing coins - non compliant.. .