“In this video Luke Rudkowski has an emotional conversation with the mother of Ross Ulbricht, alleged Silk Road’s founder who is currently in prison. This particular case is very unique and we are witnessing our legal system adapt to the evolution of the internet. For more information on this historical case and the legal defense fund please visit FreeRoss.org”
“The Tax Board in Denmark has ruled that gains and losses from casual bitcoin trading are not subject to taxation. Politiken reports that Denmark’s top tax authority met today to discuss digital currencies and how to approach their taxation, and the Tax Board concluded that any gains made from bitcoin trading are exempt from being taxed by the Danish government, and similarly any losses from trading are not deductible. The exception to this new ruling is for businesses whose primary focus is in digital currencies. Businesses who directly trade with bitcoin as their primary function must declare their winnings and losses to the government.”
http://www.coindesk.com/denmark-declares-bitcoin-trades-tax-free/
“At least one entrepreneur sees opportunity here that would take advantage of the public nature of Bitcoin activity. ‘Accountants are going to want a very accurate transaction history and value of Bitcoin at the time it was purchased and used or sold,’ says Jake Benson, 25. At least one Bitcoin tax service — Bitcointaxes.info — invites users to manually enter their Bitcoin trades to calculate taxes, or to import it their trading activity from their chosen wallet service, such as Coinbase, Bitstamp or (eek) Mt. Gox. Founder Colin Mackie, a Seattle-based software engineer, started the service after he realized he needed it himself.”
“The Internal Revenue Service’s decision to treat Bitcoin as property will make tax consequences part of every transaction involving the virtual currency. So much so that Bitcoin users and analysts say the IRS guidance announced yesterday complicates people’s ability to use it as a currency. The IRS, faced with a choice of treating Bitcoins like foreign currency or property, chose property. Exchanging Bitcoins for goods, services or dollars will generate taxable income or losses, depending on what the Bitcoin investor paid. Purchasing a $2 cup of coffee with Bitcoins bought for $1 would trigger $1 in capital gains for the coffee drinker and $2 of gross income for the coffee shop.”
“He planned to land in London Heathrow, United Kingdom less than in 3 hours. Boarding time has passed unnoticeably during an informal conversation with his friend. Both have never thought that there might be prohibited topics not to be touched on in a chat. The friend of Ethève was willing to know more about Bitcoin, from someone competent. Pierre Ethève has never hidden the fact he was a Bitcoin enthusiast as it is no crime or plague. The conversation has evolved during the individual control, when Pierre Ethève was asked to proceed for a detailed examination. Finally, the person in charge of the process of BAU claimed: ‘You’re under arrest, come with me.'”
http://cointelegraph.com/post/frenchman_persecuted_for_mentioning_bitcoin_in_a_conversation
“The head of the European Union’s policing agency warned on Monday that virtual currencies such as Bitcoin were being used for money laundering and called for police to be given more powers to identify criminal suspects operating on the Internet. ‘We’re seeing that virtual currencies are being used as an instrument to facilitate crime, particularly in regard to the laundering of illicit profits,’ said Europol head Rob Wainwright, speaking on the margins of a nuclear security conference in The Hague. Wainwright said police should be given new powers to allow them to identify anonymous participants online and bring them to justice.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/24/us-bitcoin-europol-money-laundering-idUSBREA2N1A420140324
“Whether they admit it or not, Bitcoin has put the fear of God into the banking system. Why? Because it threatens to remove them from the equation, plain and simple. Many people have now heard of Bitcoin and have a grasp of what it is…but the big question is, do they realize the potential for crypto-currencies to remove massive inefficiencies from just about every area of banking and finance? Whether it is Bitcoin or some other type of crypto currency, the banking sector knows one thing for sure: The genie is out of the bottle.”
“The Danish national bank has released a briefing note firmly declaring bitcoin to not be money, noting that the currency is more like ‘glass beads’. Denmark’s national bank is just the latest central bank to inveigh against bitcoin. In January, Malaysia’s central bank warned citizens that ‘the Bitcoin is not recognised as legal tender in Malaysia… the public is therefore advised to be cautious of the risks.’ In December 2013, the People’s Bank of China banned the country’s financial institutions from trading in the currency, shortly after the former president of the Dutch Central Bank said the currency’s boom was ‘worse than the tulip mania’.”
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/19/bitcoin-danish-national-bank
“The five-year-old digital currency is increasingly being adopted by brick-and mortar businesses, including dentists, pet boutiques — even a small honey business in Utah. In 2012, about 1,000 businesses used BitPay, the largest processor of Bitcoin payments. Today, more than 26,000 businesses worldwide use BitPay, said Tony Gallippi, its cofounder and CEO. The majority of those firms are small businesses — about half are in the U.S. and the rest are international. And while a majority are online sellers, Gallippi said 20% are merchants with storefronts. The shops range from bakeries and wine stores to car dealers and mattress sellers.”
http://money.cnn.com/2014/03/17/smallbusiness/bitcoin-bitpay/
“By using Bitcoin directly, this transaction took only 10 minutes for the real estate agent to receive their money. Martin from All4Btc.com worked closely with both the customer and the agent to create a fluid and secure transaction, as well as assuring that all taxes and fees were accounted for. Personal contact and support established a clear understanding for the agent exactly how they receive the money immediately by using Bitcoin. All in all, it took only three weeks from the customer contacting All4Btc.com to get the keys in hand.”
http://about.all4btc.com/apartment-bought-bitcoin/
