Quote from: BruceFenton on February 13, 2014, 05:58:43 PM

Quote from: BCB on February 13, 2014, 04:40:16 PM

The hope is the BitLicense will provide this regulatory clarity to allow competent, compliant virtual currency business to operate legally in the US.

By the way you don't need a petition to communicate with the New York Regulators. Commissioner Lawsky spoke at a conference on Tuesday and has invited public comment even saying he gets a lot of feedback from twitter.

Hopefully.

I've requested a meeting with him so hopefully he will accept. If not then a detailed letter signed by a couple hundred people may at least be read.

Twitter is okay but not exactly the level of engagement I'd prefer to discuss something so important and complex.

I think the hearings were lacking in the representation of those who speak about the drawbacks of regulation.

I know one goal might be to have compliant and competent firms operate in the US but the effect could be that it drives away competition and the only operators end up being those who can deal with a mountain of regulations.

Bruce,

Competition is already being driven out of the US because of the lack of regulatory clairity. See China, Panama, Singapore, Canada etc. The US has 44 years of consistently updated laws and regulation regarding anti-money laundering and Knowing Your Customer so there is no way a pseudonymous currency will be allow to thrived unchecked.

The US States regulate financial institutions for safety and soundness and consumer protection. Look at MyBitcoin.com, Bitcoinica.com, BitcoinSavings and Trust, GLBSE, inputs.io. The short history of bitcoin is littered with massive fraud and operator incompetence. There is no way a $8B + USD economy is going to go unregulated.

The conversation is not NO regulation. The conversation has to be about prudent regulation. And Lawsky has shown in his public statements and these hearings that he wants input from the community to keep illicit activity out of the us financial system and to protect consumers from fraud and incompetence while creating a framework that will allow this new technology to thrive in the New York.