New York Looks to Slap Digital Currency With Death Sentence
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Remember the pain and suffering we all experienced when China banned Bitcoin last year? Well, a new form of punishment is on the horizon for Bitcoin thanks to New York’s Superintendent of Financial Services, Benjamin Lawsky. This new artificially imposed homicide might as well be called – Death by Regulation.
Imagine walking up to a New York street vendor in Times Square to purchase a foot-long hot dog and being asked to provide your name and home address. If you’re paying with cash, no need to fret. But if you’re paying in Bitcoin or some other digital currency, be prepared to answer a series of questions before enjoying your tasty treat.
benjamin_lawskyThe State of New York is proposing BitLicense, a set of rules and regulations that would mandate licenses for merchants that accept Bitcoin and its digital cousins. The proposal creates expensive costs and barriers-of-entry for vendors, and infringes upon the rights of both businesses and casual users alike, according to a recent article published by the electronic frontier foundation.
The fact is, the World looks to New York for guidance as it relates to financial and banking regulation and if this proposed legislation passes, it would mean an end to Bitcoin in New York, and likely set a wrench into motion that could “gum up” the entire cryptocurrency machine. In essence, the Bitlicense would become the Ebola Virus of digital currency with Benjamin Lawsky becoming “patient zero”.
The open comment period on these regulations is expected to end soon, after which time, the Department of Financial Services will release an updated version of its proposed regulatory framework. That means that digital currency adopters worldwide have a limited amount of time to speak out against these new proposals or face regulation that is sure to strike a crippling blow to cryptocurrencies across the globe.