2014-02-01 Crypto-Timeline

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

The  Key January 2014 Crypto-Events were:

• 1/1/2014 – Bitcoin ASIC manufacturer facing lawsuits over alleged false advertising
• 1/2/2014 – Lebanon’s central bank issues Bitcoin warning
• 1/3/2014 – Malaysian central bank has no plans to regulate Bitcoin
• 1/6/2014 – Taiwan regulators block Robocoin Bitcoin ATMs
• 1/7/2014 – German central bank official issues another Bitcoin warning
• 1/8/2014 – China’s largest online shopping site banks Bitcoin trading and sales of related products
• 1/9/2014 – Hong Kong treasury official issues Bitcoin warning
• 1/9/2014 – Singapore lays out tax rules for Bitcoin
• 1/9/2014 – Overstock.com starts accepting bitcoins
• 1/10/2014 – Backed by Lloyd’s of London, new UK startup offers insured Bitcoin vault
• 1/14/2014 – Wells Fargo calls Bitcoin summit on ‘rules of engagement’
• 1/15/2014 – French Senate holds hearings on Bitcoin and digital currencies
• 1/15/2014 – Irish lawmaker calls for investigation into Bitcoin and the Deep Web
• 1/16/2014 – Belgian regulators issue joint Bitcoin warning
• 1/16/2014 – Canada says bitcoin isn’t legal tender
• 1/16/2014 – Sacramento Kings become first pro sports team to accept bitcoin
• 1/16/2014 – Indonesia Central Bank warns against Bitcoin use
• 1/17/2014 – UK’s deposit insurance authority will not cover digital currency losses
• 1/17/2014 – Romanian presidential candidate accepts bitcoin donations
• 1/18/2014 – Israeli regulators take wait and see approach on digital currencies
• 1/19/2014 – Bitcoin becomes a commodity in Finland after failing currency test
• 1/21/2014 – Crypto-currency exchange CoinMKT announces US banking partner
• 1/23/2014 – US authorities reveal Bitcoin black market sting operation
• 1/23/2014 – JPMorgan Chase CEO denounces bitcoin as ‘terrible,’ predicts its downfall
• 1/24/2014 – Online retailer TigerDirect starts accepting bitcoin
• 1/26/2014 – Head of Russia’s largest bank backs Bitcoin
• 1/27/2014 – Bitinstant CEO Charlie Shrem arrested in Silk Road bust for money laundering
• 1/27/2014 – BitLicense’ hearings to debate whether Bitcoin needs special regs
• 1/28/2014 – Russian central bank warns against using Bitcoin
• 1/29/2014 – French regulator requires Bitcoin Exchanges to register
• 1/30/2014 – Lawsky mulls ‘BitLicense’ after New York virtual currency hearings
• 1/30/2014 – U.S. Prosecutors say that Bitcoin needs tighter rules than banks
• 1/31/2014 – FinCEN declares Bitcoin miners and investors are not money transmitters
• 1/31/2014 – Central bank of Estonia warns consumers about Bitcoin potentially being a Ponzi scheme
• 1/31/2014 – Bank stops working with bitcoin exchange CampBX due to regulatory concerns

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

For ease of tracking I’ve decided on the following discrete categories to classify all events:

1. Banking: Refers to decisions made or stances taken by banks and other traditional financial institutions with respect to crypto-ventures, including adopting a digital currency strategy and banking operators
2. Businesses: Includes decisions made by operators and businesses as a result of regulatory pressure or other risks facing them, as well as overall market-related news
3. Enforcement Actions: Includes actual law enforcement actions on virtual currency operators anywhere in the world
4. Rules & Regs: Refers to decisions made or stances taken by regulators, supervisors and policy-makers around the world