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Bitcoiners In Denial + Compliance Just the Beginning (Redux)

[Reading Time: 4 minutes] 

For the benefit of those whose low tolerance for verbosity may have caused them to miss my insights-laden interview with David Landsman, Executive Director of the National Money Transmitters Association, the industry’s leading advocate for the rights of state-licensed US money transmitters, I have abridged it considerably and converted it into a more digestible format.

In PART ONE of the interview, David talked about the image problems that all money transmitters have in the United States, the fragmented regulatory regime and the likelihood of a federal license, now that the Bitcoin community has begun to join the fray.

In PART TWO David offered his strong viewpoint on US banks, federal and state regulators.  Also, he provided more details about the legal and PR efforts in fighting the closing of accounts, including anti-trust, administrative and civil rights causes of action.

On the fragmented US regulatory regime and the likelihood of a federal license Continue reading →

“Bitcoiners Must Understand that Compliance is Just the Beginning”

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Interview with David Landsman, Executive Director of the National Money Transmitters Association (NMTA) – PART TWO

Longer post than usual, I’m aware, but well worth it –the closing of bank accounts, the Bitcoin Foundation Cease & Desist Order from California…  David comments on it all and gives links to valuable resources!

In PART ONE, David talked about the image problems that all money transmitters have in the United States, the fragmented regulatory regime and the likelihood of a federal license, now that the Bitcoin community has joined the fray.

Read on for David’s strong viewpoint on US banks –very timely, given the increasing closing of Bitcoin operator accounts in the US–, and the reasons why many legal and PR efforts in fighting the closing of accounts have so far been fruitless.

PART TWO Continue reading →

“Most Bitcoiners Are Unaware or In A State of Deep Denial”

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Interview with David Landsman, Executive Director of the National Money Transmitters Association (NMTA) – PART ONE

In the past couple of weeks I have noticed in my conversations with cryto-preneurs a growing, yet begrudging acceptance of the inevitability of having to comply with United States regulation if their ventures are to be viable.  However, many remain unperturbed and some even defiant.

After writing extensively on America’s convoluted regulatory regime, and the challenges ahead for Bitcoin entrepreneurs, this week I thought I would seek the thoughts and opinions of someone I respect a lot, who knows the money transmitter industry inside out, and who has for decades advocated for regulatory rationality and fair play –David Landsman, head of the National Money Transmitters Association, a U.S. industry advocacy group for small and medium-sized operators who toil through some of the same issues as the Bitcoin community is facing today. Continue reading →

A Trip to Northwestern Europe

Every time I go to Europe, in spite of the doomsday mongering we all hear in the news, I find it colorful, vibrant, full of amazing art, incredible beauty and endless opportunity.

I’ll let these images speak for themselves.

The End of Bitcoin as We Know It

[Reading Time: 7 minutes]

(Or as hard-core Bitcoiners want it, I should say.)

“U.S. crypto-preneurs who don’t factor in regulation could under-budget their ventures by, at a minimum, a quarter of a million dollars annually.”

Rocky week for the crypto-currency world this past one!  All of the following happened over the course of the last seven to ten days:

• Liberty Reserve (LR) was shut down, and its management indicted and arrested, in what is being described as “the largest money laundering case in U.S. history.”  A short video at the bottom explains how the case went down.
• FinCEN designated LR as entity “of primary money laundering concern,” and proposed a rule to order that all large financial institutions freeze any and all of LR’s assets. Continue reading →

2013-06-01 Crypto-Timeline

Here is a log with relevant legal, regulatory, law enforcement and business risk milestones in the crypto-currency race to maturity with links to trusted sources.

Here are the May 2013 Key Crypto-Events:

• 5/2/2013 – CoinLab sues Mt.Gox for $75 million
• 5/7/2013 – CFTC’s Commissioner Bart Chilton vows to consider Bitcoin regulation
• 5/15/2013 – Dwolla account frozen by DHS
• 5/16/2013 – SatoshiDice (Bitcoin Game) restricts US players and US-based IPs
• 5/20/2013 – Canada’s FINTRAC confirms in letters that Bitcoin Exchangers are NOT MSBs
• 5/23/2013 – Liberty Reserve is shut down for money laundering
• 5/28/2013 – Liberty Reserve is indicted by US Department of Justice
• 5/28/2013 – FinCEN designates Liberty Reserve as institution of “primary money laundering concern”
• 5/28/2013 – OKPay suspends payment processing to all Bitcoin exchanges Continue reading →