Monthly Archives: February 2014

Canada’s Last Bitcoin-Friendly Bank Closes Accounts Nationwide

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“This past week the Canadian Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty, singled out Bitcoin, not in terms of its potential and growing positive economic influence for Canada, but as a threat.  In addition, a freedom of information request revealed an even more aggressive stance being debated by FINTRAC. The request revealed that Canada has been considering ‘chok(ing) bitcoins oxygen (sic)’ by denying Canadians access to the foreign-exchange market and even the possibility of forcing exchanges underground.  In the wake of this rhetoric, we were informed this morning by our bank that the last remaining Bitcoin-friendly charter bank, Bank of Montreal, is closing all Bitcoin-related business accounts.”

https://www.cointrader.net/updates/bitcoin-economy-freeze-canada

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Italy Imposes 20% Tax Withholding On All Inbound Money Transfers

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“In the latest example that Europe is increasingly formalizing a regime of implicit capital controls, we learn that Italy has just ordered banks to withhold a 20% tax on all inbound wire transfers: a decree which on to of everything will apply retroactively to February 1. As Il Sole reports, the deductions will be automatic (unless prior request for exclusion), and then it will be up to the taxpayer to prove that the money is not in the nature of compensation ‘income.’ In other words, as of this moment, but really starting two weeks ago, all Italians are money launderers unless proven innocent.”

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-02-16/money-launderer-until-proven-innocent-italy-imposes-20-tax-withholding-all-inbound-m

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Blockchain banned by Apple

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“Blockchain CEO Nicolas Cary weighs in on Apple’s ban of its final bitcoin wallet app.”

http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000244003

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Blockchain CEO On Apple’s Arbitrary Ban Of Their Bitcoin App

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“Since last Wednesday Bitcoin’s price on Bitstamp has gone down from a high of $810 to a low close to $619 where it bounced again.  The slide appears to coincide with the Apple App Store’s sudden ban of the Blockchain.info Bitcoin app.  In this interview Nicolas Cary, CEO of Blockchain.info, talks about the iPhone maker’s arbitrary decision and what are Blockchain’s plans in this new scenario.”

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Unlocked iPhones Are Hard Currency in Brazil, Italy, Other Countries

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“Lining up inside the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue, I was surrounded by shoppers speaking languages from around the world. The salesman looked stunned when I said I wanted an unlocked iPhone. Just one?  A new shipment of unlocked 5s phones had just come in, he said, adding that the gold model I asked for was the most popular in Europe and the easiest to resell. To my right, a man with a credit card from a Saudi bank was trying to buy his third and fourth phones of the day. ‘Make it two,’ I said. There was one more step: The salesman grabbed a landline from behind the counter to connect me with my bank’s antifraud department. Purchases from this store, he said, are red flags.”

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-02-06/unlocked-iphones-are-hard-currency-in-brazil-italy-other-countries

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Australian Bitcoin bank seeks regulatory approval

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“Despite increasing talk of a bubble in the peer-to-peer Bitcoin economy, an Australian company is looking to ‘legitimise’ the online currency with the proposed launch of a Bitcoin bank.  Web technology company HotwirePE yesterday announced the launch of Denariuz Bank, which it claimed would be ‘the first bank based solely on crypto-currency in the world’.  HotwirePE chief executive Dr Steven Wright said his firm was working with the Australian Taxation Office and ASIC and is aiming to ‘have a full banking licence from APRA based on Bitcoin’.  HotwirePE has been working closely with senior government officials for the last 10 months to help them understand Bitcoin and how to regulate it.”

http://www.investordaily.com.au/34996-bitcoin-bank-launched-in-australia

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Canada says will keep closer track of Bitcoin, virtual currencies

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“Canada will toughen rules targeting money laundering and terrorist financing to keep a closer eye on the use of Bitcoin and other virtual currencies, the government revealed in the federal budget on Tuesday.  Like cash, Bitcoins can be used in transactions without providing a record of its source. The virtual currency, whose value at one point topped $1,000, has been used for all types of online purchases, both legal and illegal.  The Silk Road, an eBay-like Bitcoin exchange that included listings for guns and heroin, was recently shut down by the U.S. authorities.  Online casinos will also be brought into the government’s existing money laundering rules, the federal government said.”

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/canada-says-keep-closer-track-bitcoin-virtual-currencies-212214598–business.html

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JPMorgan Report Slams Bitcoin as ‘Vastly Inferior’ to Fiat Currency

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“A new report by US-based multinational financial services company JPMorgan issued a sharp critique of bitcoin and other digital currencies.  The eight-page report, authored by the company’s head of global FX strategy, John Normand, aimed to present the ‘risks and opportunities’ posed by bitcoin.  However, throughout the text, Normand puts much of his focus on the former category.  Most notably, Normand suggests that bitcoin is ‘vastly inferior to fiat currencies’ on several counts, and that it is unlikely to ever be afforded the status of legal tender by world governments. The later quality, Normand says, casts the most doubt on bitcoin’s future.”

http://www.coindesk.com/jpmorgan-report-bitcoin-inferior-fiat-currency/

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How to Protect Yourself From the Next MF Global

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“The details of the bankruptcy eventually exposed that the company engaged in excessive leverage as well as various fraudulent maneuvers. Nonetheless, the practice known as rehypothecation was at the heart of the broker’s demise… and it was and still is legal.  A groundswell of concern surfaced and left investors to question not just the soundness of their personal broker, but the regulations that underpin the entire industry.  Heightened liquidity and leverage risks are the new normal for today’s investor. These risks also apply to brokerage firms. The good news is that a way around these uncertainties is available to every investor: the Direct Registration System (DRS).”

http://www.internationalman.com/articles/the-drs-going-direct

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The Countdown to the Nationalization of Retirement Savings

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“Even before the new myRA program was announced, there had been whispers about the need for the US government to assume some risk for US retirement accounts. That’s code for forced conversion of private retirement assets into government bonds.  With foreigners not buying as many Treasuries and the Fed tapering, the US government has been searching for new buyers of its unwanted debt. And this is where the new myRA program comes in.  In short, it’s ostensibly a new way for people to save for retirement. Of course, you can only invest in government-approved investments—like Treasuries—which probably won’t even come close to keeping up with the real rate of inflation.”

http://www.internationalman.com/articles/countdown-to-the-nationalization-of-retirement-savings

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