Germany acknowledges Bitcoin as currency
Germany has recognized the digital currency Bitcoin. The virtual coins are approved legally and fiscally and permitted as units of account ("Rechungseinheiten"), according to the member of parliament Frank Schäffler's homepage. The FDP-politician refers to an answer of the ministry of finance to an inquiry he made as a meber of parliament.
State regulators and central banks usually view internet currencies critically. In may authorities in the USA took action against the provider Liberty Reserve, whose digital money allegedly enabled money laundry to the extent of six billion USD (approx. 4,5 billion Euro). The New York district attorney Preet Bharara called the organization behind Liberty Reserve a "preferred bank of the criminal underworld".
The problem lies therein, that money transactions using internet currency aren't subject to governmental supervision and are mostly anonymous. At the beginning of the week it has become known, that the New Yorker financial supervision is considering a more rigorous regulation of digital currencies like Bitcoin. On their webpage, the regulating authority warned, that online trade using these [digital] currencies could violate rules for financial operations.
"If virtual currencies stay the wild west for drug dealers and other criminals, then this would not only endanger our national security but also the existance of this virtualy currency industry.", says the chief of the New Yorker financial supervision, Benjamin Lawsky.
Bitcoins are "private money"
According to Schäffler, the German government recognizes Bitcoins as a kind of "private money". For the users - only a few thousand in Germany so far - this implies more legal certainty. The finance ministery has decided, that capital gains Bitcoin users may obtain are exempt from the flat rate withholding tax - if the user owns these Bitcoins for at least one year prior to converting them back to Euros.
Bitcoins have made headlines this spring when speculants pushed the value of Bitcoins upwards - before the course rapidly fell. The internet money isn't issued by the central bank as other normal money, but it is generated by interet users in complicated calculations. The amount of Bitcoin units is supposed to remain bounded. The rate of the currency follows from supply and demand at swap-meets[?] and is currently set at about 110 USD (82 Euros).
Article is in German: http://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/bitcoin100.html
Germany has recognized the digital currency Bitcoin. The virtual coins are approved legally and fiscally and permitted as units of account ("Rechungseinheiten"), according to the member of parliament Frank Schäffler's homepage. The FDP-politician refers to an answer of the ministry of finance to an inquiry he made as a meber of parliament.
State regulators and central banks usually view internet currencies critically. In may authorities in the USA took action against the provider Liberty Reserve, whose digital money allegedly enabled money laundry to the extent of six billion USD (approx. 4,5 billion Euro). The New York district attorney Preet Bharara called the organization behind Liberty Reserve a "preferred bank of the criminal underworld".
The problem lies therein, that money transactions using internet currency aren't subject to governmental supervision and are mostly anonymous. At the beginning of the week it has become known, that the New Yorker financial supervision is considering a more rigorous regulation of digital currencies like Bitcoin. On their webpage, the regulating authority warned, that online trade using these [digital] currencies could violate rules for financial operations.
"If virtual currencies stay the wild west for drug dealers and other criminals, then this would not only endanger our national security but also the existance of this virtualy currency industry.", says the chief of the New Yorker financial supervision, Benjamin Lawsky.
Bitcoins are "private money"
According to Schäffler, the German government recognizes Bitcoins as a kind of "private money". For the users - only a few thousand in Germany so far - this implies more legal certainty. The finance ministery has decided, that capital gains Bitcoin users may obtain are exempt from the flat rate withholding tax - if the user owns these Bitcoins for at least one year prior to converting them back to Euros.
Bitcoins have made headlines this spring when speculants pushed the value of Bitcoins upwards - before the course rapidly fell. The internet money isn't issued by the central bank as other normal money, but it is generated by interet users in complicated calculations. The amount of Bitcoin units is supposed to remain bounded. The rate of the currency follows from supply and demand at swap-meets[?] and is currently set at about 110 USD (82 Euros).
Article is in German: http://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/bitcoin100.html