Lawyers Argue Bitcoin Needs Change in Money-Transmitting Laws
The lawyer representing Anthony Murgio in an ongoing case regarding his now-closed firm Coin.mx argued today why he thinks the law being used to prosecute his client needs to be changed. Speaking on a panel with six other digital currency regulation experts during the final day of Consensus 2016, Brian Klein, a partner at law firm Baker Marquart, explained what he called the "most important" regulation pertaining to criminal money transmission that he said most people have never heard of. Called the Prohibition of unlicensed money-transmitting businesses – 18 USC 1960, the....
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Lawyers for the two men recently arrested in Miami for engaging in "too-large" bitcoin transactions are claiming that the men's actions were legal because state law covers only money issued by the US or another country. Many in the bitcoin community are hopeful that this argument is persuasive, seeing money laundering laws as an attempt to regulate thoughtcrime in finance. Others also argue that citizens do not currently owe the state of Florida any kind of explanation for why they want to buy or sell bitcoin. Sting operation. In what may be the first instance of citizens being charged....
What could Warren Buffett, one of the richest men in the world, have against bitcoin? Did it hurt him in some way? Did it embarrass him or humiliate him at a conference? It would appear that the billionaire entrepreneur has a bit of a grudge against the digital currency. The "Oracle of Omaha" gave the warning to investors in 2015 that they should avoid bitcoin when they can. Buffett explains: "Stay away from it. It's a mirage, basically... It's a method of transmitting money. It's a very effective way of transmitting money, and you can do it anonymously and all that. A check is a way of....
Following charges filed by the US Attorney's Office against Burt Wagner for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business in the state of Colorado in late 2014, the criminal case has been dismissed by a district court judge. Wagner faced up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if found guilty. However, Judge William Martinez issued an order to drop the indictment against the bitcoin trader and charges be dismissed "without prejudice" this week. Bitcoin Trader Charges. "I appreciate the US Attorney's Office doing the right thing and dismissing the criminal case against my....
In an interview with Bloomberg, CEO Hikmet Ersek expressed a willingness to incorporate bitcoin into Western Union’s portfolio of world currencies “once bitcoin is regulated like a proper currency.” Perhaps even the world’s premier money transmitting service is coming around to bitcoin. But Ersek seems to find this a significant “if.” Western Union is the world’s largest money transmitting service. It deploys over 500,000 agents and 100,000 ATMs internationally. In an interview with Bloomberg, Ersek discussed the future of Western Union as it faces the spread and adoption of new....
The criminal case that sees Anthony Murgio – a Florida man charged with operating an illegal (unlicensed) bitcoin exchange – saw the presiding US federal judge reject a bid from Murgio’s defense that bitcoin did not classify as “funds”, which would deem it exempt from applicable federal laws. U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan has rejected Anthony Murgio’s claim to dismiss two charges related to his alleged involvement of unlicensed bitcoin exchange Coin.mx. In his bid, Murgio argued that bitcoin wasn’t money and therefore doesn’t fall under the purview of federal law of....