Video: Hearings| Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee. Is bitcoin legal? Last updated: 22nd April 2014 Bitcoin is of interest to law enforcement agencies, tax authorities, and legal regulators, all of which are trying to understand how the cryptocurrency fits into existing frameworks. The legality of your bitcoin activities will depend on who you are, where you live, and what you are doing with it. Bitcoin has proven to be a contentious issue for regulators and law enforcers, both of which have targeted the digital currency in an attempt to control its use. We are still early on in the game, and many legal authorities are still struggling to understand the cryptocurrency, let alone make laws around it. Amid all this uncertainty, one question stands out: is bitcoin legal?
The answer is, yes, depending on what you’re doing with it. Read on for our guide to the complex legal landscape surrounding bitcoin. What are the concerns about bitcoin? Who regulates it? FinCEN Legislative branch November saw responses from the various agencies. US states What this means to you. FBI - Apr 2012. CoinLaw - lawyer's consultations and advice for Bitcoin. Department of Financial Services Jan 2014. FIN-2013-G001. To download Adobe Acrobat Reader, download PowerPoint Viewer or download Excel Viewer, please visit Accessibility page. Guidance The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ("FinCEN") is issuing this interpretive guidance to clarify the applicability of the regulations implementing the Bank Secrecy Act ("BSA") to persons creating, obtaining, distributing, exchanging, accepting, or transmitting virtual currencies.1 Such persons are referred to in this guidance as "users," "administrators," and "exchangers," all as defined below.2 A user of virtual currency is not an MSB under FinCEN's regulations and therefore is not subject to MSB registration, reporting, and recordkeeping regulations.
However, an administrator or exchanger is an MSB under FinCEN's regulations, specifically, a money transmitter, unless a limitation to or exemption from the definition applies to the person. Currency vs. Virtual Currency Background Definitions of User, Exchanger, and Administrator Users of Virtual Currency a. B.