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Libra Libra announced it has raised $500,000 in a new seed round led by New York-based, seed-stage investment fund Liberty City Ventures. The round, which coincides with the formal launch of its IRS-compliant accounting software LibraTax, also included participation from Raptor Ventures managing director James Pallotta and former Facebook software engineer and current BitGo CPO Ben Davenport. Speaking to CoinDesk, Libra CEO Jake Benson indicated that the company intends to use the funds to build around its core product, creating a wide range of solutions for businesses and certified public accountants (CPAs) working in the bitcoin space. Benson told CoinDesk: “We have a feature-rich professional level tool that we’re working on now that allows CPAs to serve clients. That’s where we’re going with this, it’s not just a consumer tool. We need to build a version CPAs can use.” The formal launch of LibraTax followed three months of testing during which volunteer CPAs helped to audit the software. Benson explained that this intensive trial was necessary given the legal obligation CPAs have to provide accurate information for clients. LibraTax integrates with bitcoin services provider Coinbase and bitcoin wallet provider Blockchain, enabling both individuals and businesses to upload wallet transactions that are then assessed for overall capital gains and losses. The company first launched in April following the announcement by the US IRS that it would assess capital gains on bitcoin transactions. Building B2B partnerships Benson noted the similarities between the solutions Libra is trying to build and the services offered by BitGo, the enterprise bitcoin security solutions provider of which new investor Ben Davenport is a founder. In particular, Benson said that Libra and BitGo are exploring coordinated ways to serve their common customer base. “While they’re providing enterprise security, I will likewise be providing enterprise-level accounting and profit and loss (P&L) tracking,” Benson said. “So yeah, they’re very complimentary services and we’re both excited to see how those opportunities flesh out.” The company will offer three levels of service. A free service that allows businesses to process 500 transactions per year, a premium product, which allows up to $5,000 in transactions, and LibraTax Optimized, which bills businesses on a cost-basis method. Expanding customer base Benson suggested that Libra’s focus in the coming months will be on building out its services in an effort to broaden its customer base beyond individuals and bitcoin businesses to include tax professionals. For example, he said that Libra is seeking to develop a new matching service that will allow bitcoin businesses to be paired with CPAs and tax professionals interested in filling what he called a market need. “For accountants that are looking to grow their practice and take on clients, this is kind of a cool thing,” Benson said. “An account might think, ‘Hey if I can take on additional customers and fill this unmet demand, it’s a way for me to grow my practice’.” The move suggests Libra could continue to grow, even if the number of enterprise-size bitcoin businesses seeking such solutions was slow to increase. Images via Libra; Shutterstock LibraTax
Original author: Pete Rizzo

The crypto 2.0 world saw what was arguably one of the most active news cycles of the year this week as mainstream newsmakers like online retail giant Overstock.com and Gyft CEO Vinny Lingham moved to align themselves with the companies in the burgeoning industry sector. The announcements add to the mounting evidence that crypto 2.0 technologies, while still in early and experimental stages, are increasingly captivating the same early adopters who first saw potential in bitcoin. Counterparty gets Patrick Byrne boost Patrick Byrne, Overstock Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne revealed this week that the company’s previously announced effort to launch a cryptosecurity as an alternative to its common stock would go one step further, resulting in the creation of Medici, a decentralized stock market platform the company aims to eventually spin off into its own entity. Though Counterparty had been seen as a frontrunner in the crypto 2.0 space since its January launch, the news that Overstock had hired two of the decentralized exchange’s founders, Robby Dermody and Evan Wager, to build Medici on top of its technology further cemented this notion. The developers will now move to Utah, the site of Overstock’s headquarters, while vetting replacements to helm their former duties at Counterparty. Speaking to CoinDesk, industry observers unanimously saw the move as one that will bring greater visibility and credibility to the crypto 2.0 space, while also driving the larger conversations about decentralized asset trading with US regulators. “Overall, it is clear that this partnership between Overstock and Counterparty is very good news for the crypto 2.0 industry, as it shows there is interest around these types of technology, and this is potentially the next big area of growth for cryptocurrencies,” Flavien Charlon, founder of the colored coin wallet CoinPrism, told CoinDesk. Further, there was agreement that any headway Overstock and its partner law firm for the project, Perkins Coie, can make educating regulators about the technology will positively impact the entire ecosystem. “This is positive for the entire Bitcoin ecosystem and will speed more companies onto the bitcoin block chain, Counterparty and other bitcoin 2.0 protocols,” Taariq Lewis, founder of DigitalTangible, a crypto 2.0-powered gold-to-bitcoin trading service, told CoinDesk. “This is good for bitcoin.” Markets also responded to the news, initially driving up the price of the platform’s native currency, XCP, to highs around $7. Counterparty Counterparty ignites debate CounterpartyStill, though most agreed the decision was positive for the industry, Overstock’s choice of Counterparty as the underlying protocol for its project ignited long-standing battles over its implementation of the bitcoin protocol, the centralization of crypto 2.0 platforms and the distribution of voting power in such networks. “I believe Counterparty will likely turn into a workable initial solution for decentralized exchange, or at the very least a great proof-of-concept,” Gideon Greenspan, founder of asset exchange platform CoinSpark, told CoinDesk. “But, I don’t think it’s likely to become the standard, especially not if it’s managed by a much larger company with its own agenda.” Separate debates were waged on Reddit. Responding to a Medium post written by Andrew Barisser, of crypto 2.0 API provider Assembly Coins, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin engaged in one heated debate about Counterparty’s strengths. Topics included whether transaction fees should be necessary for the creation of assets, whether crypto 2.0 applications of the bitcoin protocol should be monetized and which platforms provide the best way to deal with unconfirmed transactions, among others. Vinny Lingham joins Koinify board vinnyFresh off its $1m fundraising this September, decentralized application crowdfunding platform Koinify added a notable new board member, Gyft CEO and former Bitcoin Foundation board member candidate Vinny Lingham. The smart corporations platform also added noted bitcoin author and thought leader Tim Swanson as a mentor, with Swanson calling the platform “the only serious venture-backed startup” attacking the decentralized application space. Lingham was similarly positive about Koinify and its efforts in the crypto 2.0 space when speaking to CoinDesk, labeling this industry segment “the most innovative part of the bitcoin technology”. He also acknowledged the long-term potential of new bitcoin block chain applications, stating: “The price of a bitcoin is not reflective of it’s current value, it’s reflective of the future value of what bitcoin will be worth once we find the ‘killer app’ for bitcoin, especially for consumers. I’m looking at for that killer app – and if it’s out there, then hopefully Koinify could play a role in helping to fund it.” Swanson went on to suggest that Koinify’s key challenge going forward will be onboarding decentralized apps that bring new utility and value to the community, while also going beyond applying existing concepts, like an Overstock cryptosecurity, to the technology. “The decentralized app economy that Koinify is attempting to create  in fact has a different form, yet [is] still pragmatic enough given existing technology,” he said. PeerTracks helps you get paid for your music taste PeerTracksLarger questions about the space aside, this week also saw the launch of some more practical applications of crypto 2.0 technology. Peer-to-peer music discovery service PeerTracks launched its pre-sale fundraiser at Inside Bitcoins Las Vegas, with its platform that builds off of the BitShares Music block chain, a decentralized autonomous company (DAC) enabled by BitShares technology. PeerTracks enables fans to create profiles, purchase music and promote artists by investing in artistcoins that rise and fall in value based on the popularity of an artist as indicated by the value of their coins. Similarly, musicians are able to create their own artistcoins, which they can use to raise money for projects. The platform will ensure the USD value of tokens that can be exchanged for artistcoins on its platform, using BitShares’ BitUSD, a digital asset traded on an exchange built into the BitShares block chain. Founder Cédric Cobban explained his company’s big-picture vision, telling CoinDesk: “What we are trying to do with PeerTracks is allow users to use their credit card to get BitUSD and using it to shop for music, similar to getting Apple credit when shopping on iTunes. The user doesn’t know he’s using a block chain, none of that is really seen and he doesn’t know why this website doesn’t take 30% off the top like the other sites.” “Everything is now automated and behind the scenes,” he added. Images via Gyft; PeerTracks; Coinmarketcap; Shutterstock BitSharesCounterpartyCrypto 2.0 RoundupOverstock
Original author: Pete Rizzo

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Bitcoin charity Sean’s Outpost is appealing for funds after running into financial problems following the recent decrease in the price of bitcoin. In a Facebook post, the Florida-based charity, which relies on bitcoin donations to provide meals and shelter to the homeless, said: “The recent price drop in BTC has played havoc with our finances and we are down to the bone right now.” The charity reached out to the community on Thursday, following several weeks of weak bitcoin prices. Over the past month, the price of bitcoin has gone down from $485 to $362 at press time. Last week, the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index briefly dipped to $295, the lowest point since early November 2013. Restricted budget In its Facebook announcement, Sean’s Outpost said it has used its funding to distribute over 120,000 meals to the needy so far. The organisation currently provides 2,000 meals per week and caters to more than 400 homeless in the city of Pensacola. “We are the largest provider of meals to the homeless in Escambia County, Florida, by a wide margin. And we feed rain or shine,” the charity said. Jason King, founder of Sean’s Outpost, told CoinDesk that the bulk of the money is spent on food and running its Satoshi Forest facility: “It costs around $11,000 a month to run Sean’s Outpost. That’s the cost of 8,000+ meals a month plus mortgage and utilities on Satoshi Forest.” King added that the non-profit operates on a very tight budget, substantially smaller than similar charities operating in the area. Victim to volatility According to King, Sean’s Outpost was never able to meet its expenses purely through donations, meaning the founders often had to pitch in to make ends meet. With the bitcoin price so low, this gap has widened. Operating under such a tight budget leaves the charity at the mercy of the rises and falls of the bitcoin price, leaving it unable to hold bitcoin until a better return can be achieved. King said: “Price effects us because we have to sell no matter what. We have an obligation to feed all the people we feed every day, regardless of the price. So when the price of bitcoin falls sharply, in the short term, it effects our runway in terms of ‘weeks-worth of meals’ we have liquidity to provide.” Furthermore, the charity had hoped to establish an endowment this year in an effort to minimize cash flow issues. However, recent downward price pressure has derailed those plans, forcing the organisation take a “hand to mouth” approach for the time being. Relying on bitcoin Since its inception, Sean’s Outpost has raised over 470 BTC from 1,925 donations, which equates to more than $171,000 at current bitcoin prices. However, the actual dollar value of bitcoin donations made to the charity would be somewhat higher, as a majority were made when the price was significantly above today’s (with a historical peak at around $1,100 per coin in December 2013). The charity’s current bitcoin balance is 1.56 BTC. Last May, Sean’s Outpost’s nine-acre Satoshi Forest facility was severely flooded and the bitcoin community quickly rallied to help repair the damage. Despite the current appeal for additional funding, King said Sean’s Outpost is committed to feeding the homeless no matter what happens to the bitcoin price. Charity image via Shutterstock CharityFloridaSean's Outpost
Original author: Nermin Hajdarbegovic

BitMex wins Hong Kong startup awardThe winning BitMEX team in Hong KongHong Kong-based bitcoin derivatives platform BitMEX received a vote of confidence this week when it won the Hong Kong leg of Slush’s startup challenge. The prize will see the team head off on an all-expenses-paid trip to Finland for the main Slush 2014 event in Helsinki, which takes place from 18-19th November. Slush is a worldwide pitching competition for startups with local events in at least 18 different cities. Its events aim to match startups with venture funders and also feature thousands of pre-arranged private meetings between startups and investors. Three-minute pitch At the Hong Kong event, each startup was given three minutes to pitch their product followed by a Q&A session. Competitors were judged on their presentation skills, business model and quality of answers to questions. BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes told CoinDesk his firm’s focus on bitcoin gave it an edge. “Our pitch was the punchiest and clearly demonstrated our value proposition. The bitcoin market is very disruptive and has immense upside potential. We have a global product, whereas many of the other startups were local to Hong Kong and would have difficulty scaling.” About 200 people attended the presentation, which Hayes said would help spread the word about bitcoin and its derivatives market to those who might not have been familiar with either subject. Competition judges at the Hong Kong event included representatives from various venture firms and incubators, including Peng Ong, managing director Monk’s Hill Ventures; Marc Syz, managing director ACE & Company; and David Chen, managing director AngelVest. Next steps His own years of experience in the mainstream institutional trading and derivatives world, Hayes said, gives him firm knowledge of what BitMEX needs to succeed in the bitcoin universe. BitMEX (for Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange) will go live with real bitcoin trading at the end of October. It is currently still in trial phase, with its market makers busy perfecting their trading systems in order to provide adequate liquidity from day one. After the exchange goes live, the BitMEX team will attend the Web Summit in Dublin as part of its startup Alpha program, where they will exhibit the platform for one day. They will then continue on to Helsinki with the aim of repeating their Hong Kong performance at Slush International. November’s Helsinki event promises 10,000 participants, including 2500 companies from over 90 countries and $200bn worth of venture capital represented. According to the Slush Hong Kong website, as the winner BitMEX gets (as well as the trip to the Helsinki event) a free pass to StartmeupHK Week from 10-15th November, a free booth at the TEDxHongKong 2014 Startup Pavilion on 15th November, and two VIP passes for TEDxHongKong Live on 11th October 11th. Image courtesy BitMEX AsiaBitMEXChinaHong KongStartups
Original author: Jon Southurst

wallettec bitcoin South African payments provider Wallettec has partnered with BitPay to integrate bitcoin with its point-of-sale (POS) payment platform. The company worked with South African BitPay affiliate Bitcoin Payments to allow merchants using its platform to accept bitcoin payments via in-store POS devices. The new partnership is an important step forward in bringing bitcoin to brick-and-mortar retailers in South Africa. Wallettec’s founder Johan Meyer told CoinDesk that “this is the first time anybody has integrated bitcoin point-of-sale and allowed merchants to accept bitcoin payments from almost any payment device” in the country. Mobile-focused service While bitcoin services have been appearing at a growing rate, what South Africa has been missing is a POS platform for brick-and-mortar stores to accept bitcoin at a scalable level. Wallettec’s new partnership with BitPay changes that and aims to make POS payments with bitcoin a breeze for both merchants and their customers. Mobile payments are the focus of Wallettec’s platform, which proves to be a good fit with both bitcoin’s technology and the people of South Africa, many of whom rely on mobile phones as their primary Internet device. Meyer said his company’s mission is to “become a single interface point between the POS and any mobile or e-wallet solution”, adding: “I believe bitcoin has the ability to be the first real successful alternative to traditional banking in South Africa.” The benefits of embracing bitcoin for both merchants and customers that use Wallettec are par for the course: lower transaction fees and no chargebacks to worry about for merchants, and customers can conveniently pay with bitcoin from their mobile phones – without needing a bank account. Shopping and beyond The company’s website stresses that its POS payment platform does not interfere with merchants’ existing payment processes in any way. The integration process, the company says, is “seamless and painless”, with no learning curve necessary for merchants who use the platform. On the customer end, bitcoin has the potential to improve life for South Africans – and not just when buying goods and services in-store. Meyer told CoinDesk: “Eighty per cent of South Africa’s population is either unbanked or under-banked. I believe that, the moment bitcoin becomes more affordable, it will be a key player if not the dominator in the way families will send money to other family members or friends. For this reason we knew that bitcoin has to form part of our platform.” In this perspective, the option to send and receive bitcoin on a mobile payments platform in South Africa has implications beyond retail shopping. Although still a young company, Meyer said Wallettec’s growing client base seems excited about the new option to accept bitcoin on their payment systems: “Bitcoin is still a new concept in South Africa and Africa, but it has shown tremendous growth potential and almost all the franchises we are negotiating with are very keen on adding bitcoin as payment option.” Bitcoin expansion South Africa is no stranger to bitcoin. In July, payment gateway PayFast began accepting bitcoin, which opened the doors for some 30,000 online merchants on its platform to accept the digital currency. One of those merchants, Takealot, began to accept bitcoin shortly after the announcement of PayFast’s partnership with BitX. The firm is one of the country’s largest e-commerce companies, having raised $100m in venture capital this past May. Bitcoin has also been a part of South Africa’s fight against poaching – which has become increasingly important in recent years, with the number of deaths from poaching reaching all-time highs for endangered rhino species. In June, the International Anti-Poaching Foundation (IAPF) partnered with Australian bitcoin startup BitPOS to add bitcoin donations to its current anti-poaching campaign. At the time IAPF said bitcoin donations comprised 10% of the total funds raised. See a video about mobile take-up in South Africa below: Disclaimer: CoinDesk founder Shakil Khan is an investor in BitPay. Images via Shutterstock and Wallettec.com bitcoin POSMobile PaymentsSouth Africa
Original author: Tom Sharkey

zebrapay Bitcoin is now available at 874  self-service payment terminals across Romania, thanks to a partnership between ATM operator Bitcoin Romania and terminal network operator ZebraPay. The ZebraPay terminals will allow customers to buy bitcoin at a 4% commission on prices taken from the Cointrader exchange. The terminals are one-way, so customers can only trade their Romanian leu for bitcoin. The terminals do not require customers to hand over identification documents when buying bitcoin. The service has been available for two days but it has already sold 7.2 BTC, underscoring bitcoin’s growing popularity in the country. ZebraPay chief executive Adrian Badea told CoinDesk: “It’s weird because we haven’t even launched it officially yet. It seems people already want to buy bitcoin.” Bitcoin-buying features Bitcoin Romania Zebra The partnership between ZebraPay and Bitcoin Romania means that the bitcoin ATM operator acts as a vendor on ZebraPay’s terminal network. While customers deposit their fiat at ZebraPay’s machines, the coins are ultimately supplied by Bitcoin Romania, Badea explained. Customers can use a ‘wallet shortener’ at the ZebraPay terminals which allows them to assign an easier to remember alias to their bitcoin wallet address. The terminals are standalone touch-screen machines with black-and-white stripes painted on their cases. Badea said his company’s terminals will remove the complications associated with buying bitcoin for Romanians, explaining that in the past the country’s bitcoin buyers have had to deal with know-your-customer regulations, creating accounts on various exchange platforms and ensuring their bank accounts could send funds to exchanges outside the country. He said: “There is a [bitcoin] community here, that’s for sure. There are lots of people who know about bitcoin, but they don’t have the opportunity to try it. It was too complicated before.” The Cointrader exchange was set up by Vancouver-based Bitcoiniacs, which operates the first bitcoin ATM, located in the Waves Coffeehouse there. Terminal network competition ZebraPay is working to add bitcoin as a payment option for the other services it offers through its terminals by the year’s end, Badea said. The terminals allow customers to buy mobile phone credit, pay utility bills and settle traffic fines, among other functions. ZebraPay terminals also offer Ukash, a type of electronic money, that is popular for online games and gambling, Badea said. The ZebraPay network is set to grow about 30% by year’s end, adding 350 new terminals by 2015, Badea said. Its machines are located in 160 cities across Romania in large supermarket chains like Carrefour, Auchan and Kaufland – some of the biggest retailers in the country. ZebraPay competes with Qiwi in Romania. The Nasdaq-listed Russian payments giant has a network of 171,000 payments terminals and kiosks in seven countries, largely concentrated in Russia and Kazakhstan, according to its latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and has also reported that it hosts 15.5 million “virtual wallets”, which are mainly used for remittance services. Qiwi doesn’t report terminal numbers for individual countries. Images via ZebraPay; BitcoinRomania; Shutterstock Bitcoin RomaniaBitcoiniacsCointraderQiwiZebraPay
Original author: Joon Ian Wong

Melotic front page Hong Kong-based ‘curated’ digital asset exchange Melotic has secured a $1.175m seed-funding round led by Ceyuan Ventures, with additional backing from Lightspeed China, Barry Silbert’s Bitcoin Opportunity Corp, 500 Startups, and venture capitalist Marc Van Der Chijs. Melotic founder and CEO Jack Wang told CoinDesk the company will use the funds to expand both its team and operations. Melotic’s goal is to “build a liquid multi-asset exchange to facilitate conversions between numerous digital assets”. This includes altcoins, application-specific ‘appcoins’, asset-backed tokens, and other digital assets bound to arrive in future. Liquidity provider The name Melotic derives from the word “lotic”, which means ‘living in flowing water’ – a reference to the liquidity the company plans to offer. People are using bitcoin technology for crowdfunding, appcoins, and many other applications, Wang said, and Melotic aims to be the liquidity provider for these assets. “There are unlimited possibilities for decentralized ledgers and token-based applications, and we think a key part of this infrastructure is to provide price discovery and liquidity in these assets.” Wang believes that digital tokens will be used in numerous applications beyond just financial products. He cited potential applications such as digital rights management, application permission systems, and merchant rewards programs as some examples. Curated selection The company does not deal with any fiat currencies and does not sell bitcoins. With its ‘curation’ of listed assets it aims to be something more discerning than the broader tents of other cryptocurrency markets out there. The aim is not to necessarily compete with other exchanges on volumes, Wang said, but rather to focus on specific assets, and to also work directly with asset issuers to help them build their services. There are some digital assets that won’t have large trading volumes, but have interesting features and active communities, Wang said. For example, the Let’s Talk Bitcoin podcast network’s LTBCoin is an example of the type of new micro-economy that can be built around a custom token. Melotic currently evaluates assets on a case-by-case basis, looking at an asset’s unique features, market value, community involvement, and developer engagement as some key characteristics. “For most of these altcoins and appcoins, it’s important that we see active developer and user communities. For other assets, such as our gold-backed token, we make sure to work with reputable, professional partners.” Exchange partnerships Melotic seeks to become an exchange partner with other digital asset projects it finds interesting. Recently it teamed up with DigitalTangible, which has created a system for customers to buy and store physical gold, trading on its value with bitcoin. While Melotic has already been online for a couple of months, it has remained low-key with a limited number of users while the team fine-tunes its interface design and backend infrastructure. Image via Shutterstock Digital AssetsHong KongMelotic
Original author: Jon Southurst

CFTCThe US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) held a meeting yesterday in Washington, DC to discuss bitcoin as it relates to the agency’s role as the country’s chief futures and options regulator. Panelists for the CFTC event included Coin Center executive director Jerry Brito; New York Law School professor Houman Shadab; BitPay chief compliance officer Tim Byun; and TeraExchange president and co-founder Leonard Nuara. While only covering basic elements about the subject and sidestepping larger questions about bitcoin’s classification as a currency or commodity, the roughly two-hour session appears to have done much to convince the CFTC of the potential of digital currency. CFTC Commissioner Mark Wetjen said: “It just seems like based on what I have learned, some of those applications could be so compelling that it would be a real mistake for us as a commission to not make sure we are staying on top of these developments.” Wetjen went on to voice his belief that bitcoin’s underlying protocol appears to have lasting potential. “It seems like this protocol, the bitcoin protocol or something like it is very likely here to stay,” Wetjen said. “So, the more information and education we can do on this now in trying to stay somewhere on the appropriate spot of the learning curve – it seems to be a very sensible thing to do.” CFTC Division of Market Oversight Chief Counsel David Van Wagner and Associate Director Thomas Leahy were also present to supervise the agency’s first formal attempt to engage the bitcoin community about the technology’s use in advanced financial trading. Market manipulation and surveillance The meeting notably coincided with the execution of the first CFTC-approved bitcoin swap, conducted by TeraExchange. The New Jersey-based swap execution facility announced the launch of the first bitcoin derivative in September following a lengthy vetting by the CFTC. TeraExchange was present to explain how its service works, and how all of its products, including its new bitcoin offering, rely on its index – a series of markets that could potentially be manipulated. Nuara explained to the CFTC that the numbers it pulls from the various exchanges are curated and filtered, and that anonymous behavior is removed to prevent potential market manipulators. He continued: “Is our market susceptible [to market manipulation]? Every participation is marketed and we have our own surveillance and we also have the surveillance of the NSA to back us up with regard to market participants.” Adding that the exchanges TeraExchange uses follow KYC laws, he said: “They want a sound marketplace and they are achieving it in their marketplaces, and we can take the data and build the swaps off of that.” Putting dollars on the block chain Byun was on hand to speak to bitcoin in the context of his experience as a former anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing officer for global financial giant Visa. At the core of bitcoin, he explained, is its validation system. When one commissioner suggested if the government could put dollars on the block chain, Byun explained how its utility allows the technology to validate any form of financial transaction. Byun told the CFTC: “[You could] tie a few US treasuries to the protocol, tie it as a US Treasury and let that be exchanged and validated. Because the core of bitcoin is really just a validation system.” Existing regulations vs unregulated markets The panel also discussed the state of the bitcoin market, the regulations that are currently being applied to the technology and the differences in American and European perspectives on its potential applications and future. Brito said he believes that it is a misconception that bitcoin is unregulated, arguing that digital currency is and has been subject to existing money transmission regulations and consumer protections. “It is definitely regulated in many different ways,” Brito told the Commission. “There are some countries that are friendlier and some countries that are more hostile.” Brito cited Russia, which could make bitcoin illegal through a legislative vote next year, and looked to the Netherlands and the UK as countries that appear to be more friendly to the new technology and its innovators. Hands-off approach New York Law School professor Shadab countered by saying that it was important for all at the meeting to be mindful of the particularities that motivate the different regulating bodies of each country, turning to the US Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Communications Commission to illustrate his argument. Ultimately, he suggested that the best recourse may be for regulators take a hands-off approach to bitcoin in an attempt to see what the market could achieve on its own. He concluded: “I think on some level that regulators need to let bitcoin developers put their money where their mouth is and say, ‘If there is a system that can sort of revolutionize or up in finance this by making it decentralized and cheaper and so forth and faster, you should try it’, and see what sort of policy objectives in terms of consumer and investor protection and market protection you can achieve as well.” These remarks aside, it remains unclear what the next steps for the CFTC will be as it seeks to develop its role in the bitcoin industry, even as its first hearing on the subject comes to a close. Images via Wikipedia; Shutterstock CFTCDerivatives
Original author: Tanaya Macheel
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