(SiliconAngle) Bitcoin gained a lot of momentum in 2013, as many people
experimented with it for the first time. It’s not surprising that 2014
also started with a bang for Bitcoin, when its value hit close
to $1,000. Some online shops have started accepting the cryptocurrency
as a form of payment, online sites use it so people can send donations,
and the Chicago Sun-Times has begun experimenting with it to raise funds for the Taproot Foundation.
Though the digital currency is clearly gaining traction,
many governments aren’t too keen about accepting it as a legal tender
just yet. Both
India and
China
have both warned against Bitcoin in recent weeks, resulting in some
significant fluctuation of its value. But even though there’s been some
strong opposition in these countries, it seems that most others are open
to the possibility of Bitcoin becoming a legal currency in the future.
Two countries are currently keeping an eye on Bitcoin,
monitoring what others are doing about it before coming up with a plat
as to how to approach the cryptocurrency.
Canada’s stand on Bitcoin
In a statement this weekend, Canada’s finance department
clarified that only Canadian bank notes and coins are considered as
legal tender. It doesn’t consider Bitcoin as a legal tender, but that
doesn’t mean that the Canadian government doesn’t see its potential,
reports
The Verge.
For now, Canadians can use Bitcoin to pay for online goods,
but not for paying taxes, and businesses will not be required to accept
it as a form of payment.
“Smaller, stand-alone payment systems for which there are
many substitutes — like Bitcoin — should generally require much less
intensive oversight and regulation because they pose much less risk to
the Canadian financial system as a whole,” said Bank of Canada
spokesperson Alexandre Deslongchamps.
Israel’s Wait and See approach
Israel is taking the same stand as Canada, waiting to see
how it all unfolds, but this policy may change in the near future.
Currently, some financial institutions in Israel are already engaged in
Bitcoin transactions, but regulators haven’t said a thing about it yet,
reports
CoinDesk.
The problem with this scenario is that it could attract
that wrong kind of attention. Bitcoin could be used to dodge tax
payments and can even be useful for money laundering, but regulators
feel like they don’t currently need to take a stand regarding any form
of digital currency, since they are still trying to figure out what the
rest of the world will do with it.
“People who want to get their hands on bitcoin will always
succeed, and it would be a pity if it were to occur in the shadows and
not under the supervision of the banking system,” Attorney Shiri Shaham,
who specializes in banking law, stated.
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