Topic: Is it legal for businesses to use crypto transfers instead of international wire (Read 268 times)

I don't know is it legal, but I know that it should be. Clever regulation system is need for this

As at now, the legality isn't clear, that's why there are lots of calls for regulations and such by the governments and financial institutions. However, what i can say would be that, that approach at the moment will not be prudent because of the current volatility of the market. Especially if the sender would have to covert fiat to bitcoin, and the receiver has to convert back. That being send, at some point in the future this would be the norm, it's inevitable.

depend on which countries would you choose because if those countries consider cryptocurrency is illegal then you cannot use cryto transfers instead of international wire because it's against the law and if the countries does not forbidden bitcoin then you can use crypto for every transactions

of course legitimate, indeed the advantages of krypto can be used anywhere and by anyone, will not prohibit, there will only be some taxes that are charged when kitu transfer to some places

What do you mean when you say a crypto transfer into a Canadian bank account? Do you mean selling bitcoins and receiving the funds in a Canadian bank account? If you do that and then do an international wire transfer, it is no different from directly doing an international wire transfer.
In any case, businesses have to show why they need a particular bank account. A company in China cannot easily set up  a Canadian bank account...

It would depend on the applicable laws involved in the country you are sending the coins. It is assumed that it is legal for the sending party to have those coins and it would depend then on the receiver if it is legal for them. For reference, you can check the legality of bitcoin here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_bitcoin_by_country_or_territory.

As for the recording of transactions, the parties should have an agreement how would they record the value of it but most likely it would be in terms of fiat value. Maybe they can use a platform in which they would send the coin there and then the recipient can still receive it in fiat because it is already converted or the recipient will opt to receive the coins and they would just decide when to convert it but the recognition of value would still be in fiat so that the books would still be balance in case there is reconciliation of accounts.

That’s true. Since cryptocurrency is not recognized as regular use for payment system, then it may not apply as a substitute for wire transfer. It’s not illegal and it’s allowed to be done however the issue here would be the currency. Since fiat currency is recognized legal tender whereas crypto is not in most countries, then the wire transfer may not become valid through the use of crypto.

It's better to check before doing this and if any of the chosen countries is featured with the given prohibitions then you need to get permission.

That is what the main reason behind the bitcoin invention but in many countries the crypto currencies are not yet regulate so you don't get any support from the governments if there is any issues regarding to that kind of payments.So only do the crypto transactions with trusted parties and the transactions can't be recorded since it is anonymous.

This thread reminds me of the past when international wiring money system began, then it seem as if it wasn't going to stand or continue but it stood till date. This how the doubt of crypto will go away and be carried by the air one day soon and the thomoses that are suppose to invest now will live in regret.

Thats by the way, the possibilities are there that bitcoin could play that part because it bitcoin is easier, convenient, comfortable and cheaper than international wire

A whole lot of matters are being done but because the law is not specific on them its becomes issues of interpretation with the calibre of legal team that the business is parading. But looking at it generally it would be illegal to move money with the necessary approval and since there is no authority that would approve such movement via crypto currency, then no two ways about it. Its outrightly illegal.

for me, i think the legality of fund transfer through bitcoin depends upon the country's law. In so many countries, fund transfer through bitcoin has been on going with government/law interruption.

I think it mostly comes down to whether you have easy access to a Bitcoin exchange from your bank account in the US and what amounts you are trying to transfer. It also depends on how urgently you need the money in the other country, and which country you currently are residing in.

Meanwhile i think it's import to state that each of them have their advantages and disadvantages, so it's left fir the sender to weigh his options and know which method to used.
 
Back when I did that last year, I was able to buy Bitcoin at a Bitcoin Meetup at Bitstamp spot-price. I transfered those to Bitstamp, traded, and ordered a withdrawal.
I had a confirmation that the money was headed to my bank account within 30 minutes, it arrived two days later. I actually made a few dollars on it, because the price had slightly increased between my local trade and the trade on Bitstamp.

The bitcoin transfer takes a lot more manual clicking work. You have to transfer the money (1-2 minutes), do the bitcoin transfer (+wait 20 minutes), do a bitcoin/euro trade (+ wait 20 minutes), then do the 2nd transfer. Neither coinbase nor kraken can schedule any of this. You also can lose money if you delay any of this, as the exchange rates of bitcoin may change over time. That being said, the volatility of bitcoin at the moment is lower than the banking fees, even over weeks.

I think overall I prefer Xoom or Usforex like services for the occasional transfer, as it's so much easier to use.

This is just ridiculous though. For almost a decade now we have technology which lets you move funds across the border quicker & cheaper but you are prevented from integrating into your business cause godforbid you may be violating some sort of money laundering legislation in place. 95% of the population is practically suffering cause the other 5% may be laundering money ... tssss smh

its like saying....instead of using email why dont you go to the post office, buy a stamp and send a letter


Preciate the replys though...ty

So far to the best of my knowledge, any corporate organisation moving money out through the use of crypto would be doing so in an illegal way because there is no way government will give such a clean bill to move. They need to ensure that money laundering is not involved and the amount of paper works that would be involved might frustrate the entire process.

On recording it in the books, even without the issue of crypto and international transfer, a whole lot of companies prepare two set of financial statements comprising of one that shows the true state of the company while the other that shows the position they actually wanted it to show. As an accountant, recording into the books, you do it two ways, its either you just ignore the transaction assuming it never existed or record it and give it a new nomenclature that might shows as payment for some allowable expenses.

If Bitcoin is legal in a country I think no need to replace those International wire transfers because local exchanges will be created to accommodate those business transfer need. I believed that only the local exchanges will be the only fully authorize establishment  to do such Crypto transfer need so that the fiat conversion will be fully monitor by the government except if they could request direct authorization from the government that per regulation policy will allow it then wire transfer will be just an option.

That is right, we need to comply with those standards and the restriction from other countries, that is why it is so important to know first their rules regarding those legal matter so that we won't have any violation would incur in the future if we really do have plans in doing it.

On the legality of it, you will have to tread carefully if you are in a jurisdiction with capital controls / foreign currency regulations in place. In countries like India and China, transfer of foreign exchange is regulated and there are guidelines on who is allowed to hold foreign currency. There may even be restrictions on the usage of foreign currency, or how soon it should be converted to local currency. In such cases, transferring crypto assets across borders might result in you breaking a dozen different regulations.

In your post you made 2 opposite opinion. In Belarus, indeed, since yesterday the concept of cryptocurrency is spelled out in the law on accounting. This allows businesses to use cryptocurrencies in their activities. All other countries do not. Therefore, business can not move capital without officially recognized registration.

It would ultimately depend on the jurisdiction, of course, but it should generally be fine for as long as there are no special restrictions explicitly in place. For as long as you declare it properly, I don't think you're going to encounter any problems.

As for how it should be recorded in accounting books, I found this.

This isn't proper legal advice though, of course, so if you're actually planning on doing such a thing, you should still consult a proper accountant/lawyer.

Yeah and however for the next.. that's mostly government still considering it or all that's related to crypto.
Crypto will be stronger or not, depending on the various activities undertaken by everyone and supports till can be directed to things more useful, not harmful, and more profitable for everything.

One of the many functions of cryptocurrency is money transfer as it certainly it can be easy to transfer funds in the form of a coin or even a token compared to the physical or fiat cash. As to legality, I think this is country-specific just look around your own country and its official stand on cryptocurrency. In many countries where cryptocurrency is recognized or legalized, there is no problem and there are possibly many business entities where you can convert your crypto into the local cash.

There is a general rule of doing business, which is enshrined in virtually all civil codes of states that everything that is not directly prohibited by law and does not contradict the generally recognized rules is allowed. There can only be problems with tax reporting, because accounting does not recognize arbitrary interpretations. It is good in this respect that Belarus has recently arrived, which has clarified these issues in a normative manner. Over time, all this will be regulated by regulatory enactments of other states.

I think it's not regulated yet, and there's no guidelines as to how to record transactions and how to threat cryptocurrency in accounting. Maybe in the near future when cryptocurrency has everyone attention especially in business. I think that most businesses should start considering cryptocurrency as a means of monetary transaction and they should start adapting it since it bring a lot of convenience.

It's not regulated yet. We need to wait and see what will happen or should I say just what until it happens.
Just little more until crypto gets stronger.

If certain country do have such prohibitions or any regulation into any crypto related transactions then using it up as a part of business would really requires approval but in a country which doesnt any have contradictions with cryptocurrency transactions then using this thing would be possible. Recording in the books? Theres no need since you can eventually see transactions that had been made but though having description of each one of them wont be possible.

For various organizations, the transfer of funds in the crypto currency is indeed a certain complexity, because the accounting for the tax authorities is strictly regulated there, and in most countries the crypto currency is not yet classified for its use in accounting. Recently, Belarus has done quite well, and now there are legal entities of various forms of ownership that do not have any problems with this. So far, various other institutions and organizations of different countries do this at their discretion, but they may later have problems with tax reporting.

The legality of businesses accepting Bitcoins from international customers may depends from one country to another. The first approach would be to research online on the legality of accepting and transacting in Bitcoins and possibly utilizing a payment processing service like Bitpay for example to receive Bitcoins from customers and have it instantly converted and transfered into the companies bank account (Current account). There's a good case study here - https://blog.bitpay.com/b2b-bitcoin-payments/ on how a US cosmetics company could've used Bitcoins for receiving payments from Chinese customers which was a complex process of converting Yuan to Dollars in China and then send wire transfers from China to the US bank account. Also in general most businesses who accept credit card payments from international customers may require PCI checks for meeting security standards, these can also be overcome by using Bitcoins.

You could record Bitcoins as receipts under Accounts receivables or as a regular sales transactions with Bitcoin receipts instead of cash. There's a nice guide here on how to record receipts and payments (and deriving cost of goods sold) using quickbooks for Bitcoin transactions performed via payment processors like Bitpay - https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/using-bitcoin-with-quickbooks-part-1-recording-sales-and-accepting-payments-1385976677/

Such transfers do not contradict any laws. But there are restrictions on the use of Fiat by enterprises. The business maintains its accounting records. You must confirm every action with Fiat. How will you confirm the move of Fiat via bitcoin? In accounting, you can show such transfers only through the issuance of cash.

Is it legal yet to replace intl. wire transfers with crypto transfers as part of business and how would you record that in the books?