crypto-currencies

Bitcoin Vegas Coming Out Party

[Reading Time: 3 minutes]

This week history was made in Las Vegas when, for the first time ever, digital currency entrepreneurs prominently showcased themselves at Money2020, the largest payments and financial services technology conference in the world.  CoinX, Bitpay, Kraken, Blockchain.info and Coinbase had booths on the expo floor and a lot of digital currency investors and entrepreneurs were in attendance, notably Nejc Kodric and Damijan Merlak of Bitstamp, Stan Stalnaker of Ven/Hub Culture, Gabriel Sukenik of Coinapult, and Meyer “Micky” Malka of Ribbit Capital.  See photos below.

As expected, the event was largely dominated by traditional players, and only three of over one hundred panels were directly related to Bitcoin and virtual currencies, which qualifies as a drop in the ocean.   However, the words “bitcoin”, “ripple”, “digital” and “currency” were heard everywhere both in and out of the formal sessions, especially in connection with two other key words: regulation and disruption.

Here are a few things that stuck in my mind:

• In the panel “Bitcoin & Beyond: Math-Based & Virtual Currencies”, masterfully moderated by Continue reading →

2013-10-01 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 September 2013 Crypto-Events were:

• 9/5/2013 – United Kingdom debates Bitcoin regulation
• 9/6/2013 – Satoshidice recovers from series of DDoS attacks
• 9/11/2013 – Rogue transaction cripples casual Bitcoin software users
• 9/13/2013 – Mt.Gox answers Coinlab’s complaint with a vengeance
• 9/19/2013 – Swiss politician is both puzzled and concerned about Bitcoin’s risks and potential
• 9/20/2013 – Singapore’s Monetary Authority cautions consumers against bitcoin trading
• 9/20/2013 – Canadian Royal Mint to test ‘MintChip’ payment system
• 9/23/2013 – Virtual stock markets btct.co and litecoinglobal.com shut down due to regulatory environment
• 9/27/2013 – TerraHash shuts down

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 Continue reading →

2013-09-01 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 August 2013 Crypto-Events were:

• 8/1/2013 – Tangible Cryptography (FastCash4Bitcoins) suspends Bitcoin-related transactions
• 8/2/2013 – Federal Judge declares Bitcoin a currency
• 8/12/2013 – New York State Department of Financial Services examines virtual currency practices
• 8/12/2013 – New York subpoenas Bitcoin firms in proble on criminal risk
• 8/12/2013 – U.S. Congress starts looking into Bitcoin
• 8/14/2013 – Top US compliance experts and industry players meet in first virtual currencies compliance conference [speakers and some presentations are listed here.]
• 8/15/2013 – Commonwealth Bank closes CoinJar’s business and founders’ personal accounts
• 8/18/2013 – Germany officially recognizes Bitcoin as ‘private money’
• 8/19/2013 – Mercatus Center publishes a Bitcoin Primer for Policymakers, a fine compendium of its 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 →

2013-07-01 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 June 2013 Crypto-Events were:

• 6/10/2013 – LibertyBit temporarily suspends operations due to RBC closing their bank account
• 6/19/2013 – Bitspend suspends operations due to Chase closing their bank account
• 6/20/2013 – Mt Gox temporarily suspends U.S. Dollar withdrawals
• 6/23/2013 – Bitcoin Foundation receives Cease and Desist Order from California
• 6/24/2013 – DEA Bitcoin seizure is first ever in US history

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

Dwolla Account Seizure Reveals Mt Gox on Brink of US Indictment

[Reading Time: 8 minutes]

The US District of Maryland seizure warrant that stopped Dwolla in its tracks this week reveals in good detail that the Department of Homeland Security, the US federal agency charged with not only protecting the US borders but also deterring cybercrime, has been investigating Mt Gox for a while now, and has found a criminal violation to the US federal prohibition to operate an unlicensed money transmission business.

This warrant, which was published yesterday by multiple blogs, officially confirms that the FinCEN guidance of March 18, in which this federal government agency equates virtual currency exchanges and administrators to money transmitters, is already being enforced.  To my knowledge, no charges have been made at this point, but the fact that two bank accounts were seized (see below) seems to indicate that an indictment may be imminent.

What exactly is the “Dwolla Account” seizure warrant that stopped its operations this week?  Why was it issued?  What’s going on here!? Continue reading →

The Criminal Precedent that Could Curb Bitcoin’s Enthusiasm

[Reading Time: 10 minutes]

In July of 2008, after months of wrangling with the Department of Justice (DOJ), E-Gold, Ltd.’s senior management and directors pleaded guilty to the following charges:

• Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments (federal)
• Conspiracy to Commit an Offense Against the United States (federal)
• Operating of Unlicensed Money Transmitting Business (federal)
• Transmitting Money Without a License (District of Columbia)

What does E-Gold have to do with Bitcoin?

Well, as soon as I describe what E-Gold was and did, you’ll see that the parallels with Bitcoin and its crypto-brethren are remarkably similar.  I will be quoting from the indictment itself, underlining Bitcoin-relevant language, and adding comments in brackets:

1. E-Gold was an issuer of “digital currency,” defined as a medium of exchange offered over the Internet Continue reading →