Singapore To Regulate Virtual Currency Exchanges 51
SpankiMonki writes "Following on the heels of the Mt Gox bankruptcy, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) plans to impose new regulations on currency exchanges dealing in bitcoin and other virtual currencies. Virtual currency exchanges would need to verify their customers' identities and report any suspicious transactions under the new rules.
The MAS said its regulation of virtual currency intermediaries — which include virtual currency exchanges and vending machines — was tailored specifically to the money-laundering and terrorism financing risks they posed. However, the new regulations would do nothing to ensure the solvency of virtual currency intermediaries or the safety of their client's funds."
The MAS said its regulation of virtual currency intermediaries — which include virtual currency exchanges and vending machines — was tailored specifically to the money-laundering and terrorism financing risks they posed. However, the new regulations would do nothing to ensure the solvency of virtual currency intermediaries or the safety of their client's funds."
Remember (Score:4, Insightful)
This is Singapore, the country continually rated as one of the world's greatest countries for economic freedoms... soo
Re:Oh noes! (Score:4, Insightful)
It's the death of the free market, and the government will ruin everything we built!
I think the BitCoin community is doing a pretty good job of ruining the currency on their own without government help.
Re:With regulations goes... (Score:4, Insightful)
... and the ledger is public, everyone can check for possible corruption schemes.
How is that working out in the Mt. Gox investigation? It seems like nobody knows shit.
Re:With regulations goes... (Score:4, Insightful)
Anyway it seems that you are far more at risk of not being able to access your wallet with Bitcoin than you are to having your assets frozen with traditional currencies, - assuming that you aren't actively engaged in some illegal activity. And it would also seem that Bitcoin has found a number of very effective ways of getting devalued in spite of the fact that you can't print more of it.
There are a lot more things that a currency needs to be protected from than just the government.
Re:Predicted This A While Back (Score:2, Insightful)
*yawn* Pirate Bay is still up. And thanks to namecoin, it always will be.
Re:Oh noes! (Score:2, Insightful)
The real problem here is the knee-jerk reaction the government always has when it's unleashed upon a new frontier. TFA mentions regulations that require exchanges to properly identify themselves, and other good bureaucratic record keeping nonsense. However, TFA does not mention ONE WORD about security audits on the source code, proper firewall configuration, and other technical assurances that would solve the actual problems and prevent thieves (CEOs and otherwise) from causing a repeat of Mt. Gox.
So no, dumb-ass, it's not the death of the free market. It's more security theater that will drive potential customers away, fail to solve the problems, reduce customer service, raise prices, charge government fees to fund the "regulators", and generally make everything worse. Of course, these things are what the government is best at doing, so there are no surprises here.
What makes me raise my eyebrows is people like you who keep cheering while governments destroy or confiscate the best things in life, like freedom.