{"id":205,"date":"2014-06-26T01:07:00","date_gmt":"2014-06-26T01:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.holytransaction.com\/bitcoin-too-insignificant-for-legislation\/"},"modified":"2014-06-26T01:07:00","modified_gmt":"2014-06-26T01:07:00","slug":"bitcoin-too-insignificant-for-legislation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/holytransaction.com\/blog\/2014\/06\/bitcoin-too-insignificant-for-legislation.html","title":{"rendered":"Swiss government report: Bitcoin too \u2018insignificant\u2019 for legislation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n(CoinDesk<\/a>) Switzerland\u2019s Federal Council has published a report stating that,
\nfor the time being, it will not create legislation relating specifically
\n to bitcoin<\/a> or other digital currencies.<\/div>\n
\nThe government report<\/a>
\n claims the economic importance of these currencies is currently \u201cfairly
\n insignificant\u201d and the council doesn\u2019t expect this to change in the
\nnear future.<\/div>\n
\nThis report has been created following the submission
\n of postulates by National Councillors Jean-Christophe Schwaab and
\nThomas Weibel last year, which asked the Federal Council to examine the risks and opportunities<\/a> associated with bitcoin.<\/div>\n

\nNo \u2018legal vacuum\u2019<\/b><\/h2>\n
\nA
\n point the government is keen to stress in the report is that virtual
\ncurrencies are not in a \u201clegal vacuum\u201d, meaning that existing laws apply
\n to activities associated with these currencies. It states:<\/div>\n
\n

\n\u201cContracts
\n with virtual currencies are enforceable in principle and penalties can
\nbe imposed for criminal offences associated with virtual currencies.
\nCertain business models based on virtual currencies are subject to
\nfinancial market laws and need to be subjected to financial market
\nsupervision.
\nProfessional trade in virtual currencies and the
\noperation of trading platforms in Switzerland generally come under the
\nscope of the Anti-Money Laundering Act. This includes compliance with
\nthe obligation to verify the identity of the contracting party and
\nestablish the identity of the beneficial owner.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\nSome
\n of the laws that apply to certain uses of digital currency include the
\nSwiss Code of Obligations, the Federal Act on Combating Money Laundering
\n and the Financing of Terrorism in the Financial Sector, plus the
\nFederal Act on Banks and Savings Banks.<\/div>\n

\nLegal certainty<\/b><\/h2>\n
\nSchwaab
\n told CoinDesk he was pleased the report had clarified the legal status
\nof bitcoin: \u201cThe report ensures legal certainty. That\u2019s the most
\nimportant topic at this point. Now, people who trade bitcoin can know
\nwhich financial sector regulation applies or not.\u201d<\/div>\n
\nHe went on to say he thinks the report underestimates the economic potential of bitcoin. He said:<\/div>\n
\n

\n\u201c<\/em>The more I learn about bitcoin, the less I remain sceptical about it!\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n\u201cThat\u2019s
\n a big mistake for a country like Switzerland with a strong financial
\nsector. I hope the banking sector will be cleverer than the Government
\non that point, but I\u2019m pessimistic.\u201d<\/div>\n
\nSchwaab even went as far as to suggest he is personally becoming increasingly bullish about digital currency.<\/div>\n
\n\u201cIn
\n the last months, my personal views about bitcoin have evolved: the more
\n I learn about bitcoin, the less I remain sceptical about it!\u201d<\/div>\n
\nAlexis
\n Roussel, CEO of Swiss based cryptocurrency broker SBEX, said the report
\n represented good news for the Swiss bitcoin ecosystem.<\/div>\n
\nHe was particularly interested in the parts of the report that are relevant to his company\u2019s plans to deploy a bitcoin ATM network<\/a> within Switzerland.<\/div>\n
\n\u201cManaging
\n an ATM would be considered directly as money transmitting service, with
\n tighter rules. This is starting to shape how bitcoins ATM will work,\u201d
\nRoussel said.<\/div>\n
\nHe explained it means ATM operators would always
\nneed to be licensed, unless they can ensure the user is in control of
\nthe private key of the bitcoin wallet they are sending to.<\/div>\n
\n\u201cThis
\nis imposing high standards in the bitcoin financial world, but this will
\n be beneficial for consumers in the end,\u201d he added.<\/div>\n

\nThe risks<\/b><\/h2>\n
\nThe
\n report gives examples of the risks associated with bitcoin, stating
\nthat, while there is no risk of it damaging the country\u2019s existing
\nfinancial sector, consumers are vulnerable to volatility and security
\nissues.<\/div>\n
\nIt concludes by advising consumer protection organisations within the country to urge people to use caution when using bitcoin.<\/div>\n

Open your free digital wallet here<\/a> to store your cryptocurrencies in a safe place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(CoinDesk) Switzerland\u2019s Federal Council has published a report stating that, for the time being, it will not create legislation relating specifically to bitcoin or other digital currencies. The government report claims the economic importance of these currencies is currently \u201cfairly insignificant\u201d and the council doesn\u2019t expect this to change in the near future. This report […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":730,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,76,274,542],"tags":[764,948,1201],"yoast_head":"\nSwiss government report: Bitcoin too \u2018insignificant\u2019 for legislation -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/holytransaction.com\/blog\/2014\/06\/bitcoin-too-insignificant-for-legislation.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Swiss government report: Bitcoin too \u2018insignificant\u2019 for legislation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"(CoinDesk) Switzerland\u2019s Federal Council has published a report stating that, for the time being, it will not create legislation relating specifically to bitcoin or other digital currencies. 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