In recent news floating the net there is a lot of talk on projects supporting the Bitcoin idea and related services. I have reported on a couple in recent posts. As more and more facts about these projects emerge and some lawmakers try get their head around digital currencies, there is more ground for speculations.
Reason i come up with this is the behavior of officials and banks towards the Bitcoin.
My assumption is clear: instead of fighting it (you cannot shut a peer to peer network down so easily) the credo is to howl with the wolves in order to get a cut of the pie.
The first steps have been the actions against Mt.Gox and other Bitcoin exchange networks by such illustrious agencies as the Department of Homeland security. On the grounds of being unlicensed money-transmitters. Does this now mean that when i hand old Jenkins from next door the 20 quid that Hammond gave me for him last week i am the potential target of DoHS? After all, my intentions where to demand a beer as transaction fee and i had not registered for a license to transmit money.
The second and higher tier steps are Ripple & co. According to the makers it will be a "PayPal like peer to peer credit and banking system" and a main feature is to be the so called "Bitcoin Bridge". To sell it to us the user we get shown the advantages of more exchange points in the network. Which would lead to greater stability as the global market would not suffer as much as before when one of these platforms denies service for what-ever reason. It would also give access to the bitcoin trade to wider masses as the nerd-factor diminishes through a UI such as Ripple's Bitcoin Bridge. There is no need to have Bitcoins to purchase something with them.
And exactly here is the soapy aftertaste. Anonymity within this trade network is gone for the Bitcoin, except you sell a digital good via TOR network. Chances are some people do this but it's not applying on most goods.
With all the anonymity dwindling we will undoubtedly hit the point where somebody wants to tax the new found wealth. But this will also be the point where governments have to acknowledge Bitcoin as a currency, therefore lifting their course again (so likely that i would bet on it. leave me your offers in the comments). The British HMRC (Her Majesties Revenue & Customs) is currently having a bit of a quandary whether or not to accept Bitcoin as a currency (source). Apparently nobody needs to register their UK Bitcon exchanges under the terms of the money laundering regulations, but this information seems as stable as uranium when considering a paragraph from a letter of the HMRC:
We are currently in discussions with HM Treasury concerning this market
and whether HMRC will be a Supervisor for this market. HMRC will be
watching any developments relating to the Bitcoin market and may change
our view, therefore I would suggest that you regularly check our news
and update section on our website at www.hmrc.gov.uk/mlr and sign up for our e-mail alert system at www.uktradeinfo.com/AboutUs/Pages/EmailAlertServices.aspx.
Until something changes then standard Tax rules apply according to an HMRC spokesperson. And accepted currencies rarely tend to vanish. They are rather exchanged for a newer, better systems. So we came from pebbles, to shells, to gems, over gold to the colorful paperslips and know we exchange strings of numbers. It really does not matter. None of the former fills you up when hungry and their value will always be fictive.
But should you get into trouble along the way, don't worry. You can now also use your Bitcoin to pay lawyers and attorneys. The law firm "Nesenoff & Miltenberg LLP" based in Manhattan has now announced to accept payments in Bitcoin. They state to have found a niche market in digital currency and plan to allocate more resources to "figuring out a lot of these complex bitcoin and digital currency problems". (source)
Bottom line is the world tries to get to grips with Bitcoin, one way or the other. The global tendency is upwards even though a few panicking speculators have drawn the price down temporary.
If you have thoughts or questions to this please write in the comments.
Until then - have a nice day forum!
regards,
Tim
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