For eight years in the 1990s, Attorney Charles Ware hosted the extremely popular legal advice radio program "The Lawyer's Mailbox"; the Number One (#1)legal advice radio program in the Mid-Atlantic Region,on WEAA - 88.9 FM, Morgan State University Radio in Baltimore, Maryland.
www.CharlesJeromeWare.com

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

BALTIMORE BITCOIN PRIMER, 2014 : www.charlesjeromeware.com

www.chaerlesjeromewaare.com. " Here to make a difference. " The contents of this blog are not intended to be used as legal advice.

BITCOIN is the world's first completely decentralized digital currency.
Just five years ago (2009), knowledge of Bitcoin was restricted to a handful of
hobbyists on Internet forums. Today, the Bitcoin economy is larger than the economies of some of the world's smaller nations.

The value of a bitcoin (or "BTC") has grown and fluctuated greatly over the past five years, from pennies in its early days to more than  $ 260.00 a bitcoin at its peak in April 2013. The current market capitalization of the Bitcoin economy is estimated to be more than $ 1 billion.

Businesses big and small are showing increasing interest in integrating the bitcoin monetary system into their financial operations and they are providing new services and products within the bitcoin economy. Venture capitalists, as well, are increasingly eager to put their money behinh this growing industry.

The creation and development of  the Bitcoin system of digital currency and its rapid successes could be argued to be an exciting testament to the creativity and ingenuity of the modern entrepreneur.

However, Bitcoin does have its detractors. Because Bitcoin is decentralized and can to a degree
be used pseudonymously, it has naturally attracted the attention of government currency regulators
and others who engage in the currency regulation field. For example, it appears that the same qualities that make Bitcoin attractive as a payment system could also allow Bitcoin users to evade taxes, launder money, and trade illicit goods. Both the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network )FinCEN) of the U.S. Department of  Treasury and the U.S. Department of Justice have released official statements regarding the regulation of virtual currencies, including Bitcoin.

[ Also see, BITCOIN:A Primer for Policymakers/by Jerry Brito and Andrea Castillo/ Mercatus Center, George Mason University(2013);  U.S. Department of the Treasury, Financial Crimes and Enforcement Network, " Application of FinCEN's Regulations to Persons Administering, Exchanging, or Using Virtual Currencies"(Regulatory Guidance, FIN-2013-G001,US Department of the Treasury, Washington, D.C., March 18,2013, http://fincen.gov/statutes_regs/guidance/html/FIN-2013-GOO1.html; " US Regulators Eye Bitcoin Supervision",Financial Times,May 6,2013/Alloway,Meyer and Foley/ http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/O/b 810157c-b651-11e2-93ba-00144feabdc0.html; "Bitcoin Startups Begin to Attract Real Cash", Wall Street Journal, May 8, 2013/ Needleman and Ante/ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100014444424127887323687604578469012375269952.html;
Financial information in this blog is provided at bitcoincharts.com, and estimates total market capitalization to be $ 1,457,815,292 as of May 29, 2013]

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