In Rejecting Bitcoin as Money, Florida Court Sets Likely Precedent
A Miami judge has dismissed charges against a Florida-based bitcoin seller after he was indicted in 2014 on illegal money transmission and money laundering charges. Judge Teresa Mary Pooler sided with the defense's argument that bitcoin doesn't constitute a form of money within the confines of Florida’s legal system, stating in a ruling issued today that Michell Espinoza doesn't qualify as a money transmitter as argued by the prosecution. The case was tried in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida. Observers say that the ruling exposes how state statutes don’t account for bitcoin and....
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A Miami, Florida, trial court recently dismissed a criminal case against a defendant who had sold bitcoin to a police detective as part of an undercover investigation. The case, Florida v Espinosa, has been already been cited by some potentially important precedent for future cases, particularly those where bitcoin's status as "money" or "currency" is at issue. Bitcoin industry advocates will also cite the case when arguing for legislative reform and greater regulatory clarity. But, as legal precedent, Espinosa's value may be limited. It’s a single decision from a....
A Florida circuit court judge has issued a ruling suggesting that individual bitcoin dealers could be considered money transmitters under state statutes. Lawyers representing the defendant, 29-year-old Pascal Reid, had sought to strike down the charge, one of three, on the interpretation that a state resident would need to be a money services business (MSB) or operating on behalf of such an entity to be in violation of the law. The decision, delivered today by Circuit Court Judge Fleur Lobree, argued that a
The City Court of St. Petersburg in Russia made a judgement that legally acknowledged digital assets less than a week after the Russia’s Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said that Russia would definitely legalize crypto as a means of payment. Russian Court Acknowledges Crypto As Form Of Payment Piron and Yevgeny Prigozhin were sentenced […]
It seems that Florida and bitcoin are suddenly joined at the hip. Madeira Beach has become the first municipality to accept the digital currency following a city council decision, and is hosting its Bitcoin Bowl pre-party in preparation for the real thing. Recently, however, Florida's relationship with bitcoin has encountered a glitch. Following his arrest in Miami in February of this year for selling bitcoins to an undercover agent, 29-year-old Pascal Reid has argued that Florida's state money transfer statue refers only to corporations, rather than individuals; an argument that has been....
Michell Espinoza had a good Monday. On that day last week, the South Florida bitcoin exchanger saw money transmission and money laundering charges against him dismissed. Espinoza was arrested in 2014 for selling bitcoins to an undercover law enforcement agent, and he has again been thrust into the spotlight due to the potential impact of the case. The court's eight-page opinion, discussing the application of Florida money transmission and money laundering statutes to sales of bitcoin, was the first of its kind, and it suggested that certain notions of how the law views transactions made in....