American officials seeking more oversight in digital currencies
Representatives from the Treasury, the DOJ and Homeland Security all told members of Congress that federal regulators need to watch Bitcoin more closely. Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman joined in a chorus of her colleagues by telling a Senate committee hearing that “criminals are nearly always early adopters of new technologies and financial systems, and virtual currency is no exception.” Such criminals include money launderers and drug dealers, they claim, who conceal their actions via anonymous, decentralized currencies such as Bitcoin. The hearing was held by the Senate....
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The New York Times reports that American officials at the state and federal levels are concerned about whether digital currencies can police themselves and have begun “broad investigations.” Already, the Senate homeland security committee has sent out a written query asking financial regulators and heads of law enforcement what threats and risks “virtual currency” poses. “This is something … that demands a whole government response,” an anonymous source close to the inquiry is quoted as saying. This all coincides with a subpoena from the State of New York’s Superintendent of Financial....
Some Russian public officials have to disclose their crypto holdings, while other officials are obliged to hold zero crypto by April 1, according to a new law. Russia adopted its cryptocurrency law in January, but this legislation does not provide a direct answer to some questions, including how local officials should deal with their crypto holdings. There are at least two other legal initiatives requiring Russian public officials to declare or even get rid of their cryptocurrency holdings entirely in 2021.On Dec. 10, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree obliging some....
The government of the Isle of Man is looking to plug a gap in its gambling regulations as they relate to bitcoin and other digital currencies. Officials are currently weighing regulatory changes that would allow gambling services to accept digital currencies “as if they were cash”. Specifically, the Isle of Man’s Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC) wants to tweak the definition of “the deposit of money” currently on the books to include “the deposit of something which has a value in money or money’s worth”, which would cover digital currencies. Mark Rutherford, deputy chief executive of....
California state officials are considering the creation of a set of regulations that would seek to inform consumers of the risks associated with using virtual currencies while simultaneously creating safeguards against said risks. The Department of Business Oversight claims that the state's money transmitter laws, which are currently used to regulate business such as Western Union, are applicable to Bitcoin. Speaking with Bloomberg, California Department of Business Oversight spokesperson Tom Dresslar said: The consensus among staff is that the department and commissioner could regulate....
A decentralized currency can not only exist with regulation and oversight, it must. Following publication in Cointelegraph of the Vanbex Report titled, Outlawing Bitcoin: A Matter of Control, commenter Simon remarked: “So a decentralized currency requires … centralization?” The Necessity of Oversight in Decentralized Currencies. This comment arose from a statement in the article that read: “A decentralized digital currency requires regulation and oversight.” His confusion — incredulity, even — is not uncommon; it’s something I’ve heard and read throughout digital currency circles for some....