Regulating Bitcoin: Necessary Protection or Stifling Innovation?

[Ojima-ojo]

The government can not regulate bitcoin but instead what their should focus on regulating is bitcoin services, such as excahges and other payment gateways, because it through those channels that all the illicit activities take place, e.g the FTX Sega it happened on exchange, and other money laundering through bitcoin are all done on excahges because their provides the gateway between the fiat and bitcoin.


Just like banks, that have been involved in all illicit transactions and even fiat paper money are all tools for illegal money movements, this is what we should take note of before talking about bitcoin regulations so as not to lose focus on the areas that the government can regulate to achieve great success to give consumer satisfaction and protection against the bad actors.

[Hamza2424]

We cant be certain that governments are serious about the regulatory acception of Bitcoin, because these days due to the additional pressure of the elections, most of the time what we hear about Bitcoin and crypto from their mouths is a pro-crypto narrative, as I said due to elections so there's no certainty there can be mood swings,

As for BTC as far as the community is concerned whether the government supports Bitcoin or not it will continue to achieve its targets, slowly but steadily, there's no doubt that regulatory developments work as the boosting catalyst for Bitcoin.

[AmoreJaz]

We cant be certain that governments are serious about the regulatory acception of Bitcoin, because these days due to the additional pressure of the elections, most of the time what we hear about Bitcoin and crypto from their mouths is a pro-crypto narrative, as I said due to elections so there's no certainty there can be mood swings,

As for BTC as far as the community is concerned whether the government supports Bitcoin or not it will continue to achieve its targets, slowly but steadily, there's no doubt that regulatory developments work as the boosting catalyst for Bitcoin.

We will only know if they are serious on this matter if they start passing their bills related to crypto market. Otherwise, it will all be pure talk as regulation needs actual bill to refer to. As crypto market is going mainstream, it is understandable that regulation is necessary for the consumers to abide by.

And if that politician will stop mentioning crypto-related discussions once elected, it means, he was not really serious about his crypto ambitions. Some are just using this market to attract voters from this community. But when it comes to reality, they don't even know how to start drafting a bill in favour of crypto industry.

[Rengga Jati]

Regulations on Bitcoin were created only because the government wanted to control our activities on Bitcoin. Whether they dress it up with various consumer protection considerations or something else, in fact the bottom line is they still want to limit Bitcoin and our involvement remains under control by the government.

Government is the center of centralization. And Bitcoin is something that should be decentralized. However, the government certainly doesn't want something they can't control, right? So, when they can't control Bitcoin directly, they make various complicated rules regarding our activities as citizens that must be obeyed. And it worked. At least, some countries must comply with regulations regarding crypto, exchanges, and so on. This is annoying, plus, and their goal is still there, they still get taxes from it all.

[Wind_FURY]

We cant be certain that governments are serious about the regulatory acception of Bitcoin, because these days due to the additional pressure of the elections, most of the time what we hear about Bitcoin and crypto from their mouths is a pro-crypto narrative, as I said due to elections so there's no certainty there can be mood swings,

As for BTC as far as the community is concerned whether the government supports Bitcoin or not it will continue to achieve its targets, slowly but steadily, there's no doubt that regulatory developments work as the boosting catalyst for Bitcoin.

I'm in the other side of the debate. Censorship, bans, and their need for absolute authority are what actually could be catalysts to start using Bitcoin. I'm not speaking merely from the perspective of the individual. It also works socio-politically as well. Rumors from Iran that because the sanctions of the United States against Iran made it hard to export Crude Oil has made them mine Bitcoin using their Oil as the source of fuel to power their mining farms to "export" Bitcoin - something censorship-resistant, instead of Oil.

[IceLincoln]

Bitcoin has survived for this long on a consensus based system, this shows that it can suffice. The talk of regulation about Bitcoin is all about control and not security of users.

Yeah, I’ve come to notice this (it’s all about control). Government is not happy when there’s something profitable in circulation which they’re not able to control or monitor. They want to be involved in all things, or have a  part of the cake. I think Government is no respecter of privacy which is why they want to be in the midst of things and try to convince us it’s for our own good.

[mirakal]

Some points to consider:

- How can regulation balance consumer protection with innovation and growth?
- Will overly restrictive regulations drive innovation offshore?
- Can self-regulation and industry standards suffice, or is government oversight necessary?

Share your thoughts and let's explore the implications of Bitcoin regulation!"

there are some strong arguments why the majority of crypto/bitcoin holders don't agree with regulation...
 - to keep the value of privacy
 - freedom, decentralization
Besides, we don't need strict regulation but what we need is support from the government to legalize bitcoin in order to grow adoption.

But for some reason also why the government pushed to have strict regulations...
 - due to increasing scams, fraud, and money laundering - innocent people lose their money at the hands of scammers.

Both parties have their positive and negative insights about this but for me, it is better to stay the way it is - decentralized. Bitcoin has gained popularity because if this feature changes it will have an absolute impact which I believe we don't want it to happen.

[Dr.Bitcoin_Strange]

Bitcoin was created to be a decentralized technology and I don't agree that it needs any government regulation it to function. If the government really wants to protect consumers interest in the technology, they can just make public guidance announcement, advising the society to be careful while investing in Bitcoin, letting them to know that Bitcoin is a volatile asset. Bitcoin may be used by some scammers for money laundering or other illegal activities but if we look closely, the most cases of money laundering is not even carried out with Bitcoin but with traditional money.

[legiteum]

As Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies continue to grow in popularity, governments and regulatory bodies are increasingly taking notice. Some argue that regulation is necessary to protect consumers and prevent illicit activities, while others believe it could stifle innovation and limit the potential of decentralized technologies.

Where do you stand on Bitcoin regulation?

Some points to consider:

- How can regulation balance consumer protection with innovation and growth?
- Will overly restrictive regulations drive innovation offshore?
- Can self-regulation and industry standards suffice, or is government oversight necessary?

Share your thoughts and let's explore the implications of Bitcoin regulation!"

Lack of proper regulation = FTX = Bitcoin drops by 95% in value.

It's really as simple as that. Although we can (and should) all debate the proper regulations of the market, a market that has no regulations absolutely invites criminals, and those criminals--and their criminal activity--chases away the average consumer investor, which is what gives Bitcoin the market value it currently enjoys.

Bitcoin went up 500% under president Biden.

Why? Because under his administration, criminals like SBF were put in prison where they belong. This signals to the average investor that they can safely invest.

Do you want "Libertarian Coin"? The absolute "wild west" where there's no regulation? That's how Bitcoin started off--back when the price of Bitcoin was 10 cents.

You can gripe about this regulation or that, and no doubt some of them can be really stupid (it's government after all), but there's an absolute need for a regulated market for Bitcoin and other cryptos.

[shield132]

my view of regulations is that regulations SHOULD be about checking on businesses acting honourably/morally/legally to protect consumers.. not the other way round. regulators should stick to policing the businesses that take custody of their customers assets

however current regulations allow businesses to continue to process a transfer of assets as long as they report on the customer who requested the transfer if the transfer is suspicious. thus it doesnt stop transfers(if illegal/suspicious) it however later on helps capture/punish the person after the crime. thus is not even preventing crime nor prevents the criminal transfer by the service

so current regulations dont even do anything effective to their proposed purpose

I completely agree with you. I will support regulations if they guarantee me that my cryptocurrencies will be safe in hands of the platform where I have them deposited, for example on exchanges. Regulations should monitor exchanges, the way they secure cryptocurrencies and crypto or fiat reserves. There should be implemented mechanisms that will protect customers from financial loss and offer them a legit service.

At the moment regulations allow businesses to do whatever they want. They can ask anyone to submit KYC and other identity documents or even freeze funds if they feel that way. At the moment, customers aren't protected when they use crypto services. Regulations don't ask businesses to be more transparent and customer-oriented. They let them open businesses in off-shores and nothing happens when they scam. 1xBit scams thousands of people and no one got arrested for that, there are many other examples too.

[PrivacyG]

Regulations should help, but in the case of Bitcoin they do any thing but help it out.  In fact, I really do believe the Regulations we saw so far were meant to damage Bitcoin and not help it.  They do not like Bitcoin so why would they help when they can just find ways to make things much harder for us.

Bitcoin went up 500% under president Biden.

Why? Because under his administration, criminals like SBF were put in prison where they belong. This signals to the average investor that they can safely invest.

Nonsense.  During the Presidency of Trump, Bitcoin went up by over 6 TIMES more than during the Presidency of Biden.  During the Presidency of Trump, it saw an increase of around or over 3500 percent.  And second of all, Bitcoin is not a United States asset.  It is a World wide asset.  While many of the decisions taken in the United States, including Elections influence the price of Bitcoin, it did not go up by 500 percent due to the actions taken by Biden.

[legiteum]

[...] it did not go up by 500 percent due to the actions taken by Biden.

I didn't mean to imply it was, only that the supposedly burdensome regulations that were added under Biden (including throwing SBF in prison) obviously did not negatively affect the price of Bitcoin.

[Z-tight]

- How can regulation balance consumer protection with innovation and growth?

Centralized exchanges are regulated by the government and they comply to government policies, but they still get hacked and people still lose their money when they store it there. Anyone who needs an institution to protect their funds for them, should use fiat; in BTC, you protect your money yourself, because you are responsible for its security. Take note as well that a decentralized network does not need a centralized government to grow, the community is responsible for the growth of BTC.

[el kaka22]

This has been a liberal talking point for business as well, if we let business owners liberal, as in let them take care of the business themselves without regulations with the hopes that "market will find the right way" then we would still have 8 year olds working for 25 cents per hour right now, thankfully there are regulations and we do not end up working kids anymore because there are regulations. I believe that while some regulations could be too much and we may end up seeing some slowing down on innovation, it also doesn't mean that we should not end up with any regulations at all, we should probably keep on seeing it.

This is our personal life we are talking about and if we let crypto be fully free, then there could also be bad people taking advantage of that situation. Have some small regulations so that we could end up with some good results and could do something much better on the long run, it will benefit them and could do a lot better.

[Onyeeze]

When somebody come down and read what you compose it is contradictory to understand the exact point you are trying to make or to convince people to understand you, as you are lamenting or emphasizing on regulation and protection of Bitcoin I don't know the exact point you are figuring out I don't know if really you are of the opinion of regulating Bitcoin from scammers or you are indirectly channel your point for regulation of investors so that is why we need to be convinced whenever we are making a point that being related to cryptocurrency mostly in Bitcoin and the its regulations, it is obvious that regulation of Bitcoin can come from any angle based on the price and otherwise

[pooya87]

Lack of proper regulation = FTX = Bitcoin drops by 95% in value.

The biggest crash we've had in bitcoin IIRC was 80% and it was because the tip was a bubble aka an unrealistic price that needed to pop and price needed to come down.

Crashes caused by some shitty centralized service can never be big and I don't think any of them were bigger than 30%.

On top of that, regulations are not going to prevent such things from happening. They will get hacked, scam their users, run away, etc. and they can cause crashes with or without regulations.
As I said before, so far regulations have not been for user protection but for government control and surveillance.