Topic: Is regulation really coming to Bitcoin ? (Read 2536 times)

regulation is already running on few states(Usa) and is coming to other(see UK), regulating something mean to tax it

australia for example classified it as a property, USA did it too if i'm not mistaken

so some country did regulated it already, other are probably waiting to see how the situation will evolve, before make their move

Well, no one exactly knows what it is, because you simply can't seem to put a definite label on it, actually. It possesses the capabilities and properties of usually very different things!

There are hardly 2-3 million bitcoiners across the globe and the market cap is below 4 Billion USD. Authorities do not need to worry now. U can grow and acquire your fuel to fight for coming days while they are sleeping peacefully or fighting over something unimportant.

For now, no.  Regulation is only coming to the exchange operators and entities operating as a MSB.

The authorities still don't fully understand Bitcoin yet.  Currency?  Commodity?  Property?  Payment Portal?  We know what it is, but they're waiting out this period of growth to see how it matches in their tick box.

No, but it may seriously hinder the development of that technology in said country. And if the USA or China decide to outright ban Bitcoin and using it, well, most people will stop.

That is a good point and a ray of light. If they fear missing out on the money because of businesses going elsewhere, countries may temper their impulse to regulate BTC to death.

Regulating the bitcoin service is good for the adoption as we can be sure the "banks" we store the coins cannot steal from us.

History tells us that the government will create this thing called "bit permit".  In order to use bitcoin, you will be required to obtain a "bit permit".  Then the government will reject all applications for the "bit permit".   Bitcoin users, all without "bit permits", will be fined and maligned as often as possible, houses and cars will be seized, and those who put up a fight will be thrown in jail for decades.  This is what happened in the U.S. with regard to marijuana and medical marijuana permits.

The funny thing is that, any country specific law can not stop bitcoin. It requires all countries to agree upon this. But, that is NOT going to happen. USA will never handshake with Russia/China. India will never handshake with Pakistan. Israel will never handshake with Palestine. So Bitcoin will remain

Well obviously it is subject to regulation now. The question is what other laws will banking lobbyists think up. They spend lots of money to shape the law, how much have you spent? There is your answer.

Most points of conversion and exchange with traditional monetary systems are already regulated.

The real questions are:

Will the Bitcoin core developers allow governments to force them change the code to adhere to any new regulations that become law?

Will 51% of the miners use - or allow the governments to force them to use - the new regulated Bitcoin code that the core developers release?

Will people offering products and services in exchange for bitcoins adhere to any regulatory changes?

For instance, if the core developers dont change the code or 51% of miners (lets say, the Chinese) refuse to upgrade the network to the new regulated code, the only alternative would be to not only place KYC/ALM (and any new regs) on money services businesses, but also onto everyone who transmits or receives bitcoins. Even little Johnny who gets a Bitcoin for gradualtion and/or the grandparents who sent it to him. Or the guy selling or buying a stereo system on craigslist for Bitcoin.

It will be interesting to see how this all develops with a blockchain with full transaction transparency.

Will it be like the DEA going after evey kid with a doobie, the RIAA going after 12 year old downloaders of MP3 music, a hands off approach , or somewhere in between?

The most interesting part will be how the enforcement will work. Can you imagine the resources and manpower they would need to track down every party and wallet for every transaction?

Then there is the issue of working across national borders. Will they outlaw sending or receiving Bitcoin to/from nations that don't 'play ball', have a treaty, or agreement?

Well the respective countries make the rules and laws. The citizens of a country and the companies who are dealing in Bitcoin then have to abide by those laws. It's effectively like dealing with FIAT money today!

usually is the government that regulate something, and regulation mean you lose all anon features, not a big deal for many(as we leave in facebook era) but other is really important

also in many country bitcoin is already regulated, because they have applied taxation to it

And who gets to make the regulations?

IMHO some kind of voluntary certification process for exchanges should be encouraged. Most people would prefer to deal with an exchange that is certified. Those who want to take the risk and deal with shoddy, uncertified exchanges could choose to do so as well but I'd imagine this wouldn't be popular. Different certifying organizations could exist with different interpretations of what an exchange should and shouldn't do. That way, you can pick the one that most agrees with your viewpoint and see what exchanges that they have certified.

EDIT: I'm not 100% sure but I think the US higher educational system works in a similar way. There are many colleges and universities out there but only degrees from those that are accredited by a few major organizations are really worth anything.

Yes, I agree. Did I somehow come across as if I didn't think that regulation will help Bitcoin's adoption Anyways... Centralized exchanges aren't going away anytime soon, so we need to make them better, regulated, and insured.

Such thinking is actually wrong. Bitcoin can't have a (legal) connection to fiat if unregulated (on a exchange). That's one of those situations where we actually need it.
We need more businesses using/paying in Bitcoin. That's also something that regulation is going to help with.

Why would you think that?  If the regulation happens on a political level (and not the core protocol), the basic principles of Bitcoin will stay the same. It will only create legal guidelines and maybe help getting peoples' trust.

Bitcoin will die if it is regulated

I think it depends on who is in charge of doing the regulation. The European Central Bank, for example, just flooded (keeps on, actually) the market with freshly minted/printed Euro. This is also a type of regulation - trying to counteract certain economic movements.

Why does regulation have to do with central banks? It's the governments that do the regulating and collecting the taxes. I don't think you know what you're talking about because you contradict yourself here.