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Is Bitcoin Selling its Soul to the State?

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This question or some variation of it has actually been posed to me by many virtual currency enthusiasts over the past few months.  It so happens that the financial services regulations applicable to many new virtual currency businesses have been seen as impinging upon the core features that make Bitcoin so innovative and potentially disruptive.

First, the hope for complete anonymity was shattered by the statutory obligation to implement know-your-customer procedures at the currency translation points.  Second, the irrevocability of transactions was dampened by the federal consumer obligation to provide for delayed executions, cancellations and refunds.  Is financial privacy next? 

One of Bitcoin’s most salient and innovative attributes is that its block chain, the public ledger where the entire history of every transaction ever conducted is stored, is publicly viewable by anyone with the right tools.  Given this unique window into their virtual currency wallets, are Bitcoin users not at risk of giving up the right to the private use of a currency that cash affords them today?  I say at risk because it may still be possible to Continue reading →

“Compliance-Enabled Legitimacy is Key to Bitcoin’s Survival”

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Interview with Megan Burton, founder and CEO of CoinX

Early last month, at a Bitcoin pitch contest organized by Ultra Light Startups, the winner, Atlanta-based CoinX, beat the competition by a landslide.  To be precise, the show-stealer was actually Megan Burton, its founder and CEO.  John Frankel, partner of venture-capital firm ff Venture Capital, one of the three expert judges in the panel, said to me: “It was a strong presentation.  She came across as someone who has done her homework and her strategy seems sound.”

Megan, whom I was delighted to meet in person last week at the Inside Bitcoins conference in New York City, has graciously agreed to an interview.  Enjoy!

Juan: Please tell us about your background and how you got involved with Bitcoin.

Megan: My background is in internet and payments security.  I first came across Bitcoin in the spring of 2012, when reading an article on the BBC website about a foreign currency exchange that had been shut down as a result of a security breach.  Nothing out of the ordinary, except that this breach had been due to an encryption Continue reading →

2013-08-01 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.

The  Key July 2013 Crypto-Events were:

• 7/2/2013 – Feds arrest alleged Romney tax return hacker and Bitcoin blackmailer
• 7/4/2013 – Mt Gox resumes operations and announces new banking relationships
• 7/4/2013 – Users Bitcoins are seized by the US Drug Enforcement Administration
• 7/8/2013 – E-Sports league hit with lawsuit over bitcoin mining
• 7/19/2013 – Bank of the West shuts down Amagi Metals account
• 7/22/2013 – SEC charges Texas man with running Bitcoin-denominated Ponzi scheme
• 7/29/2013 – Thailand’s central bank allegedly bans Bitcoin (not really the case, though)

Please point me to any events that you consider important and would like to see on the log. Continue reading →