Bitcoin Advocates Take Square off Over California Virtual Currency Regulation
A proposed California law to regulate virtual currency has drawn mixed reactions from industry advocates, in stark contrast to the New York BitLicense that met united industry opposition. AB 1236 sponsored by Assemblyman Matt Dababneh requires virtual currency companies to be licensed. The measure passed the Assembly in June and awaits Senate action. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), based in San Francisco, has launched a petition opposing the measure. Coin Center, a Washington, D. C. -based group, supports the bill, calling it a cautious and well-researched approach to virtual....
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The state assemblyman behind efforts to regulate digital currency businesses in California cited the $65m hack of Bitfinex this week as evidence of the need for tighter industry controls. In a statement issued following his state's decision to temporarily shelve further regulatory deliberations this year, he said that more time was needed to strike a balance between giving virtual currency businesses a firm foundation and ensuring consumers are protected. Assemblyman Matt Dababneh said in the statement: "Today, a user of virtual currency has no protection from loss, and businesses....
Assemblyman Matt Dababneh, who penned California's AB-1326 bill seeking to regulate virtual currency businesses, has defended his proposal against critics. Last week, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) said the bill, which would prohibit virtual currency businesses from operating unless licensed to do so by the Department of Business Oversight (DBO), threatened the future of digital currency experimentation and innovation in the state of California. Dababneh said in a statement: "First, EFF has little expertise in the area of financial regulation and is generally beyond its depths on....
Digital currency enthusiasts have been openly voicing out their concerns regarding the bitcoin regulation bill in the state of California. According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the bill is premature and technically inaccurate. "Virtual currencies are still developing, and this bill threatens to both stunt the growth of this innovative industry and hamper the enthusiasm driving consumer interest. Also, privacy and free speech are central issues in the virtual currency space, which the bill fails to adequately consider," the EFF's filing indicated. California Bitcoin....
Following the BitLicense framework in New York, another US state is considering implementing legislation for bitcoin legislation. According to the California Department of Business Oversight (DBO), it has decided not to exercise its authority to regulate bitcoin and digital currencies. Instead, the agency will leave this up to state legislature. However, DBO spokesperson Tom Dresslar said that they haven't finalized their decision. "We're still in the process of how or if at all to regulate virtual currency business under our current statutory scheme," he explained. California Bitcoin....
A group of bitcoin businesses have drafted a letter to members of California's Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee following the state's most recent update of its proposed regulation for bitcoin and digital currencies. Signed by BitGo, Bitnet, Blockstream, Chain, Gem, Mirror and Xapo, the letter praises the Senate for its most recent changes to AB 1326, particularly its elimination of certain redundant licensing and modification of its definition of "virtual currency business". Perhaps most notably, however, the startups called on California to go a step further before the....