Official response regarding the CBC announcement surrounding Bitcoin:
Date: 10th February 2014
"As the CEO of a leading company that is building the infrastructure surrounding the Bitcoin technology (Neo), I believe the announcement made by The Central Bank of Cyprus surrounding the dangers of using Bitcoin was reasonable. Innovation is always upsetting, not innovating and being left behind as the world evolves has historically proven to be far more dangerous though; if not for vested interests, then for the future generations.
As a responsible company we naturally agree that anything to do with personal or corporate finances should be treated with extreme caution, including financial products offered by traditional financial institutions. That is why our business offers free education to everyone on what we offer and the Bitcoin technology, to enable individuals to make an informed decision for themselves. We do not and will never set any sales targets within our business, because we believe this practice should be avoided when handling the individual and corporate financial needs of our customers.
The fact that the Wall Street Journal, which is one of, if not the most respected financial publications in the world, responded to the Central Bank warning in a comical fashion speaks volumes of the warning's content:
So, is the institution accused of failing to control the economy on the tiny Mediterranean island and allowing rampant tax avoidance and money laundering - saying Bitcoin is illegal? Not quite. Instead it warns that there are big risks associated with using the currency.
The response made by The Wall Street Journal echos the issues that we have faced when engaging with international banking partners; they have never expressed an issue with Bitcoin, however they have all considered Cyprus as a high risk country.
Regardless of the reluctance of both the Central Bank and CySEC to regulate the businesses surrounding this new technology, Neo are still committed to establishing a clear regulatory framework for Bitcoin based businesses to operate within. We are proposing a full regulatory framework to both of these regulators and directly to the government. Some work will be required from these regulators to act upon this proposal and no single entity understands this technology better than ourselves, that is why we are offering our resources to help the regulators fulfill their mandate and regulate businesses to protect the consumer.
Neo are already subjecting ourselves to internal policies for Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer that are more strict than any European legislation which surrounds these matters. We have taken these steps to ensure that we build a transparent institution. Due to the nature of the technology we utilize throughout our business, this higher level of transparency is more achievable than anything that has come before us.
If people want to use Bitcoin they will find their own way to obtain them in an unregulated manner, even if Neo didnt exist. Isnt it better for them to acquire them via a regulated market, that offers some level of protection?
Kind regards,
Danny Brewster
CEO - LMB Subsidiaries Limited"