Author

Topic: 2013-08-06 Reuters: U.S. judge says SEC can pursue Bitcoin-related lawsuit (Read 893 times)

vip
Activity: 1386
Merit: 1141
The Casascius 1oz 10BTC Silver Round (w/ Gold B)
Ok judge, so which is it, are bitcoins money or securities?

Does thaat distinction mean anything or matter?

Can bitcoin be both?

As I understood it, bitcoins are money and Pirate's promise to repay principal and interest is a security.
donator
Activity: 1218
Merit: 1080
Gerald Davis
Ok judge, so which is it, are bitcoins money or securities?

Does thaat distinction mean anything or matter?

Can bitcoin be both?

The judge never said Bitcoins are securities/investments.  He said what Pirate offered was a security/investment.  The fact that they were denominated in Bitcoins didn't automatically make them not a security/investment (a highly dubious theory held by many for a long time).
legendary
Activity: 2128
Merit: 1031
Ok judge, so which is it, are bitcoins money or securities?

Does thaat distinction mean anything or matter?

Can bitcoin be both?
sr. member
Activity: 392
Merit: 250
♫ A wave came crashing like a fist to the jaw ♫
I apologize in advance for the cross post, but I wanted to point out the below fact.

There you go, a US federal judge presiding over a case with the SEC has formerly stated that bitcoin is a form of money.

Quote
Therefore, Bitcoin is a currency or form of money, and investors wishing to invest in BTCST provided an investment of money.
legendary
Activity: 1596
Merit: 1100
U.S. judge says SEC can pursue Bitcoin-related lawsuit
URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/06/us-court-sec-bitcoin-idUSBRE97517G20130806

Quote
U.S. regulators got the green light from a federal judge to proceed with their lawsuit against a Texas man accused of running a Ponzi scheme using Bitcoin, the virtual online money system.

Trendon Shavers of Bitcoin Savings & Trust had challenged the Securities and Exchange Commission's case against him, saying the regulator had no jurisdiction to sue him because the Bitcoin investments he offered are not securities or subject to any U.S. regulation.

But U.S. Magistrate Judge Amos L. Mazzant in the Eastern District of Texas ruled on Tuesday that his Bitcoin investments "meet the definition of investment contract, and as such, are securities."
[...]
Jump to: