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BITCOIN’S ATTEMPTS TO be recognised as a legitimate currency suffered a blow as the Norwegian government says it doesn’t qualify as real money.
The country, which is one of the richest nations in the world, will treat Bitcoin as an asset instead and will charge owners of the virtual currency a capital gains tax.
The director general of taxation in Norway, Hans Christian Holte, told Bloomberg that the currency doesn’t “fall under the usual definition of money or currency.” He said that he plans to work with other countries to work out the legal aspects of Bitcoin.
The virtual currency has suffered a number of setbacks over the last few weeks. During the weekend, South Dublin County Council rejected a motion calling for it to accept payments using Bitcoin, calling the motion “premature.”
Also, the lack of regulation around it is a problem for many organisations and governments. Both the Bank of France and the European Banking Authority issued warnings regarding the financial risks of Bitcoins, while Thailand’s government made the currency illegal due to a lack of applicable laws.
In China, where the bulk of Bitcoin trading is done, its regulators have banned financial institutions from using the currency due to fears that it would be used for illegal activities.
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I suspect the real nail in the coffin was South Dublin County Council not accepting it
I think the financial institutions are scared of losing control of people’s finances and therefor resisting the push for this currency.
Absolutely Shit
That’s obviously part of it but you make it seem as if them losing control is always desirable. Monetary policy is a powerful tool of economic management and to lose control of it would be disastrous at a national and international level, especially when only wealthy tech savvy people can avail of the use of bitcoin.
People like to rail against government oversight and regulations but the fact is they exist for a reason and currently bitcoin is far to volatile and free from regulation for a government to sanction its use as currency. In time its value may stabilise and this could change things but as long as its still periodically dropping half its value in a day or jumping 50-150% in a matter off hours I don’t see it happening.
That also ignores the issue of tampering with the exchanges to manipulate value and the lack of recourse if your bitcoin wallet is robbed, this currency was always meant to be stored locally not on the internet, The infrastructure just isnt secure enough yet
It’s volatile, sure.
There are futures markets available to traders to accommodate that. So your argument about Bitcoin being “far too volatile” falls flat on its face.
I agree with all of that except for tech savvy people part. cex.io makes it easy for me anyway.
Problems with bitcoin:
- the blockchain (history of all bitcoin transactions, required to be part of every wallet) is very big (approximately 15 gigs) and will probably double again in only the next few months. This means you need to download this massive file before you can use your wallet.
- you can use an online wallet, but they are ALL scams designed to trick you into parting with your bitcoins
- there is no regulation to protect you if something goes wrong or your bitcoins are stolen
- malware is starting to appear that searches your pc for your wallet
- it takes about 10 mins to validate a transaction on the bitcoin network (hardly useful for point of sale)
- the above problems can be avoided by more clued-up users, but the current price is WAY above what it should be for something that is currently a novelty
- and don’t get me started on the volatility…
Other than that, it’s great!
There hasn’t been any “real money” since the gold standard was dropped.
Exactly “Fiat” currency is not REAL money, its Debt backed by absolutely nothing!
“SHOW ME THE BITCOIN”
Stick with beanie babies as a store of value. Bitcoin is just a fad.
Governments lose the power to commit usury (i.e. print money) with Bitcoin.
Usury is lending at unreasonable interest rates.
Governments don’t print money. Private banks, ie Central banks, Federal Reserve print money and charge interest to the taxpayer for printing our own money…how nice of them….expect a backlash from the mainstream over Bitcoins, Jp Morgan are planning their own digital currency.
Typing a couple of billion dollars into a computer and pressing “return” is a form of grand larceny — it’s government stealing from everybody to prop their own interests.
Only the Central Banks print money. Banks ‘create’ money by giving out more money in loans than they physically have in the bank.
Money is what money does therefore if I can buy an iPhone with it then its money.
Nigel
Your definition is a slight bit off the mark! Unless you can trade generally with the bitcoin it’s not a currency . You may be able to barter with it on a very limited basis but that’s not sustainable. The real problem here is the danger associated with acquiring a substantial amount of it at a time when it will inevitably collapse…..
What it needs is more supporting infrastructure and that’s starting to happen, last week $25 million dollars was invested in bitpay.
Once in a blue moon Richie, you say something with which I can agree.
Norwegians may soon hold a different view to their government.
http://www.businessinsider.com/norways-housing-market-is-a-bubble-2013-12
Not quite so simple. Money is anything which satisfies three criteria – 1) Means of exchange, 2) unit of account, 3) store of value. BitCoin only satisfies the first criterion, so economically speaking is not money. Also worth noting that Fiat currencies only satisfy the first and second criteria (inflation means modern currencies are not a store of value, as they were when they were backed by gold for example), so it could be argued that Euro or Sterling are not “real” money either.
JP Morgan has a patent on electronic money. Wouldnt be surprised if this is reason for the pressure.
the Monsanto of the banking world eh! ? , talk about taking credit for an obvious development
Virtual currency will be considered “not money” by the ruling powers, until THEY control same. JPM’s first step will tell you that.
“They” don’t like money, they don’t control.
Its not money and we cant prove it has value, but we are going to Tax it sounds like government alright.
It is much closer to a commodity than to a currency at the minute. It is mined (via cryptographic number crunching), it has a limited quantity and it traded in a similar manner. People using it to buy things are basically bartering.
This is why it is being speculated on and its value fluctuates so quickly.
If the government can’t control it then they won’t recognised as a legitimate, we need more of the likes of this. http://mashable.com/2013/12/09/tesla-bitcoin/
“In China, where the bulk of Bitcoin trading is done…”
is anyone surprised?
Ernie just booked all our bitcoins on a flight to #india !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If its not money is it taxfree?. This would be a huge leap for bit coins
That’s what I was thinking. If I buy bitcoin, then sell later at a profit. Is the dividend taxable since it is not recognised?
It would be considered an asset and as such any gain would be taxable under CGT.
I heard that there’s a shed load of them buried near Limerick…..
Fridays news…. TODAY
Good luck to them attempting to collect capital gains tax with an anonymous encrypted currency. Bitcoin is anti bank and anti government. The first I’m happy with, the 2nd not so sure personally. Bitcoin is defo here to stay because although it’s incredibly volatile as a currency it’s revolutionary in terms of a means of exchange. The fees are miniscule for sending money from point a to point b. Western union, visa, MasterCard and PayPal should be very worried.
Cryptocurrency is here’s to stay. May be Bitcoin, may be a new government controlled crypto with stability.
Any donations are welcomed to my wallet :)
13dZkRGMBxbn9grPZSX135Urmm8w7Lhnij
Me too please!
18S7tW88ZyRRqhqho8hbpV1u5pZtz6hGEj
Don’t you need to have a 3d printer to print out the coins?
Kruger Rands!!
I heard that there’s a shed load of ‘em buried near…….. Limerick I think the man that I bought the map from said.
have your say