Wire: DJ Global Markets (DGM) Date: Mar 3 2014  17:26:06
DJ UK Tax Authority Issues Guidelines on Taxation of Digital Currencies





 
   By Neelabh Chaturvedi
 
  LONDON--The U.K.'s tax authority Monday set out guidelines for the taxation
of crypto currencies such as bitcoin, allaying uncertainty over their treatment
for business and consumers.
  Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs said no value-added tax--a sort of national
sales tax--will be due on income received from the mining of crypto currencies
or income received by miners for the provision of other services in connection
with the verification of specific transactions.
  No VAT will be due on the value of bitcoins or other crypto currencies when
they are exchanged for sterling or other foreign currencies either. If VAT is
levied on a product, the tax must still be paid whether payment for the product
is made in pounds, bitcoin or anything else.
  "Taxpayers can rely on the VAT treatment outlined unless and until HMRC
announces any changes. Any changes will not apply retrospectively," the HMRC
said in a statement.
   Any profits made by companies and individuals from the appreciation of their
value of crypto currencies could still be liable for taxes.
  "Gains and losses incurred on bitcoin or other crypto currencies are
chargeable or allowable for Capital Gains Tax if they accrue to an individual
or, for Corporation Tax on chargeable gains if they accrue to a company," the
HMRC said.

I think it is just a statement

*MT. GOX CEO MARK KARPELES APOLOGIZES AFTER FIRM'S BANKRUPTCY

Karpeles is now speaking in Bankruptcy court

*MT. GOX CEO MARK KARPELES APOLOGIZES AFTER FIRM'S BANKRUPTCY

*CALL CENTER WILL BE SET UP FOR MT. GOX CUSTOMERS

*DJ Mt. Gox Lawyer: Mt. Gox Assets Y3.84B
*DJ Mt. Gox Lawyer: Will Cooperate With Japanese Authorities Into Investigating What Happened

*DJ Mt. Gox Lawyer: 750,000 Bitcoin Held by Clients, 100,000 Held by Mt. Gox Mostly Missing
*DJ Mt. Gox Lawyer: Missing Bitcoin May Have Been Withdrawn Through System

*DJ Mt. Gox Lawyer: 750,000 Bitcoin Held by Clients, 100,000 Held by Mt. Gox Mostly Missing
*DJ Mt. Gox Lawyer: Missing Bitcoin May Have Been Withdrawn Through System

They have $63 mln more liabilities than assets.... i.e. they can't give everyone 100% back

Japan minister calls bitcoin 'collapse' expected

 Published: February 28, 2014 4:39 AM
 By The Associated Press  YURI KAGEYAMA (AP Business Writer)

TOKYO - (AP) -- Japan's finance minister scoffed at bitcoin woes as inevitable Friday, and Vietnam banned the virtual currency, but enthusiasm was undimmed among its supporters in the aftermath of the apparent collapse of a major exchange.

The unplugging earlier this week of the Tokyo-based Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange and accusations it suffered a catastrophic theft have drawn renewed regulatory attention to a currency created in 2009 as a way to make transactions across borders without third parties such as banks.

Mt. Gox's CEO Mark Karpeles has said in a web post he is working to resolve the problems. He has not denied a widely circulated document that says the exchange suffered the theft of more than 740,000 bitcoins, which would amount to about $370 million at current prices. Such a loss would be a giant setback to the currency's image because its boosters have promoted bitcoin as immune to counterfeiting or theft.

"No one recognizes them as a real currency," Japan's Finance Minister Taro Aso told reporters. "I expected such a thing to collapse."

Aso, known for his blunt language, said that a predictable outcome for bitcoin had come even sooner than he had expected.

Japan's financial regulators have been reluctant to intervene in the Mt. Gox situation, saying they don't have jurisdiction over something that's not a real currency. They pointed to the Consumer Affairs Agency, which deals with product safety, as one possible place where disgruntled users may go for help.

The agency's minister Masako Mori urged extreme caution about using or investing in bitcoins. The agency has been deluged with calls about bitcoins since earlier this year.

"We're at a loss for how to help them," said Yuko Otsuki, who works in the agency's counseling department.

Other countries have reacted sternly.

Vietnam's communist government said Thursday that trading in bitcoin and other electronic currencies is illegal, and warned its citizens not to use or invest in them.

Late last year, China banned its banks and payment systems from handling bitcoin, although people still use them online. Thailand earlier put a blanket prohibition on using bitcoins and Russia has effectively banned them.

Karpeles, who has disappeared from the public eye, said Wednesday on the otherwise blank Mt. Gox website that he was working with different parties to fix "our recent issues." He did not say when trading might resume. That may mean those with bitcoins at Mt. Gox have no way of ever getting them back. For now, they have no way of getting their money out.

But there was still considerable appetite for bitcoin in China, where it has become attractive as an investment since tightly-regulated state banks offer very low interest rates on deposits.

Even some with money tied up in Mt. Gox were undaunted.

Huang Zhaobin, a 21-year-old student in Chengdu, said he had lost 50,000 to 60,000 yuan ($8,125 to $9,750) from the Mt. Gox closure.

"Actually this money itself is the benefit from bitcoin investment," said Huang, who plowed 10,000 yuan into bitcoins about three months ago.

"If it is legal, I will continue to invest for sure as it is the trend in the world."

Zhou Ming, 30, an art editor in Fuzhou, was not overly worried about the problems. He said his initial investment of 20,000 yuan ($3,200) in 2011 had grown to about 300,000 yuan ($48,700).

"For the bitcoin investors who started early like me, this does not matter too much as we've already made much money earlier."

In Singapore, Tembusu Terminals, a joint venture specializing in crypto-currencies, announced Friday its first bitcoin ATM in the city-state and plans for many more. Other outfits in Asia have also announced similar ambitious plans.

Yang Weizhou, analyst at Mizuho Securities Co. in Tokyo, said laws to regulate virtual currencies may have to be created by countries including Japan.

The trend toward such technology for peer-to-peer payments wouldn't replace traditional money but was here to stay because of its convenience, she said.

"It is undeniable," she said. "One must separate the Mt. Gox problem from the overall concept."

It's hard to know how many people around the world own bitcoins, but the currency has attracted outsize media attention and the fascination of millions as an increasing number of large retailers such as Overstock.com begin to accept it.

Speculative investors have jumped into the bitcoin fray, too, sending the currency's value fluctuating wildly in recent months. In December, the value of a single bitcoin hit an all-time high of $1,200. In the aftermath of the Mt. Gox collapse Tuesday, one bitcoin stood at around $470.

Roger Ver, a Tokyo resident who has provided seed capital for bitcoin ventures such as Blockchain.info, a registry of bitcoin transactions, said he believes bitcoin will survive, possibly emerging with better technology that's safer for users.

He said Mt. Gox people were likely sincere but had failed to run their business properly.

"Mt. Gox is a horrible tragedy. A lot of people lost a lot of money there, myself included," said Ver. "I hope we can use this as a learning experience."

__

Associated Press video journalist Kaori Hitomi in Tokyo, researcher Fu Ting in Shanghai and writers Chris Brummitt in Hanoi, Vietnam and Satish Cheney in Singapore contributed to this report.

Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at twitter.com/yurikageyama

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

DJ Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection





By Eleanor Warnock and Takashi Mochizuki
     TOKYO--A lawyer for Mt. Gox announced at a news conference at the Tokyo
District Court that the embattled bitcoin exchange was filing for bankruptcy
protection and that Mt. Gox had outstanding debt of about Yen6.5 billion ($63.6
million).
     The exchange has been under fire from investors since it stopped bitcoin
withdrawals in early February, citing a technical issue that potentially made
fraudulent withdrawals possible.
     On Tuesday, Mt. Gox, which at one point handled more than 80% of trades in
the virtual currency, stopped all transactions, dealing the severest blow to
the bitcoin industry yet and raised concerns about a lack of protection for
users. Several Mt. Gox investors say they have little hope of recovering their
funds, with some individual investors saying they had bitcoins valued at
hundreds of thousands of dollars in Mt. Gox.
     Atsuko Fukase contributed to this article
     Write to Eleanor Warnock at eleanor.warnock@wsj.com and Takashi Mochizuki
at takashi.mochizuki@wsj.com
 
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

  (END) Dow Jones Newswires
  February 28, 2014 04:50 ET (09:50 GMT)
  Copyright (c) 2014 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 04 50 AM EST 02-28-14
 
-----------------------------====================------------------------------
                              Copyright (c) 2014

MtGox files for bankruptcy protection Y6.5 bln debt outstanding

*DJ Mt. Gox Lawyer: Outstanding Debt Y6.5B
*DJ Mt. Gox Lawyer: Filed For Bankruptcy Protection
*DJ Mt. Gox Lawyer: Accepted By Tokyo District Court

So around $ 60 mln outstanding debt

*DJ Mt. Gox Lawyer: Accepted By Tokyo District Court
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
February 28, 2014 04:34 ET (09:34 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2014 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 04 34 AM EST 02-28-14

*DJ Mt. Gox Lawyer: Outstanding Debt Y6.5B
*DJ Mt. Gox Lawyer: Missing Bitcoin May Have Been Withdrawn Through System
*DJ Mt. Gox Lawyer: 750,000 Bitcoin Held by Clients, 100,000 Held by Mt. Gox Mostly Missing
*DJ Mt. Gox Lawyer: Mt. Gox Assets Y3.84B
*DJ Mt. Gox Lawyer: Will Cooperate With Japanese Authorities Into Investigating What Happened
*CALL CENTER WILL BE SET UP FOR MT. GOX CUSTOMERS
*MT. GOX CEO MARK KARPELES APOLOGIZES AFTER FIRM'S BANKRUPTCY

On Bloomberg, when the whole story is available I will edit

DJ Mt. Gox Files for Bankruptcy Protection





By Eleanor Warnock and Takashi Mochizuki
     TOKYO--A lawyer for Mt. Gox announced at a news conference at the Tokyo
District Court that the embattled bitcoin exchange was filing for bankruptcy
protection and that Mt. Gox had outstanding debt of about Yen6.5 billion ($63.6
million).
     The exchange has been under fire from investors since it stopped bitcoin
withdrawals in early February, citing a technical issue that potentially made
fraudulent withdrawals possible.
     On Tuesday, Mt. Gox, which at one point handled more than 80% of trades in
the virtual currency, stopped all transactions, dealing the severest blow to
the bitcoin industry yet and raised concerns about a lack of protection for
users. Several Mt. Gox investors say they have little hope of recovering their
funds, with some individual investors saying they had bitcoins valued at
hundreds of thousands of dollars in Mt. Gox.
     Atsuko Fukase contributed to this article
     Write to Eleanor Warnock at eleanor.warnock@wsj.com and Takashi Mochizuki
at takashi.mochizuki@wsj.com
 
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

  (END) Dow Jones Newswires
  February 28, 2014 04:50 ET (09:50 GMT)
  Copyright (c) 2014 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 04 50 AM EST 02-28-14
 
-----------------------------====================------------------------------
                              Copyright (c) 2014

On Bloomberg,

Will update when I have the press release

*SINGAPORE MONETARY AUTHORITY SAYS BITCOINS NOT LEGAL TENDER
*SINGAPORE'S MAS SAYS IT DOESN'T REGULATE USE OF BITCOINS
*BITCOINS `NOT RECOGNIZED' AS MEDIUM OF EXCHANGE: MAS

http://www.mas.gov.sg/news-and-publications/parliamentary-replies/2014/reply-to-parliamentary-question-on-virtual-currencies.aspx

Dear MtGox Customers and Bitcoiners,

As you are aware, the MtGox team has been working hard to address an issue with the way that bitcoin withdrawals are processed. By "bitcoin withdrawal" we are referring to transactions from a MtGox bitcoin wallet to an external bitcoin address. Bitcoin transactions to any MtGox bitcoin address, and currency withdrawals (Yen, Euro, etc) are not affected by this issue.

The problem we have identified is not limited to MtGox, and affects all transactions where Bitcoins are being sent to a third party. We believe that the changes required for addressing this issue will be positive over the long term for the whole community. As a result we took the necessary action of suspending bitcoin withdrawals until this technical issue has been resolved.


Addressing Transaction Malleability
MtGox has detected unusual activity on its Bitcoin wallets and performed investigations during the past weeks. This confirmed the presence of transactions which need to be examined more closely.


Non-technical Explanation:
A bug in the bitcoin software makes it possible for someone to use the Bitcoin network to alter transaction details to make it seem like a sending of bitcoins to a bitcoin wallet did not occur when in fact it did occur. Since the transaction appears as if it has not proceeded correctly, the bitcoins may be resent. MtGox is working with the Bitcoin core development team and others to mitigate this issue.


Technical Explanation:
Bitcoin transactions are subject to a design issue that has been largely ignored, while known to at least a part of the Bitcoin core developers and mentioned on the BitcoinTalk forums. This defect, known as "transaction malleability" makes it possible for a third party to alter the hash of any freshly issued transaction without invalidating the signature, hence resulting in a similar transaction under a different hash. Of course only one of the two transactions can be validated. However, if the party who altered the transaction is fast enough, for example with a direct connection to different mining pools, or has even a small amount of mining power, it can easily cause the transaction hash alteration to be committed to the blockchain.

The bitcoin api "sendtoaddress" broadly used to send bitcoins to a given bitcoin address will return a transaction hash as a way to track the transaction's insertion in the blockchain.
Most wallet and exchange services will keep a record of this said hash in order to be able to respond to users should they inquire about their transaction. It is likely that these services will assume the transaction was not sent if it doesn't appear in the blockchain with the original hash and have currently no means to recognize the alternative transactions as theirs in an efficient way.

This means that an individual could request bitcoins from an exchange or wallet service, alter the resulting transaction's hash before inclusion in the blockchain, then contact the issuing service while claiming the transaction did not proceed. If the alteration fails, the user can simply send the bitcoins back and try again until successful.

We believe this can be addressed by using a different hash for transaction tracking purposes. While the network will continue to use the current hash for the purpose of inclusion in each block's Merkle Tree, the new hash's purpose will be to track a given transaction and can be computed and indexed by hashing the exact signed string via SHA256 (in the same way transactions are currently hashed).

This new transaction hash will allow signing parties to keep track of any transaction they have signed and can easily be computed, even for past transactions.

We have discussed this solution with the Bitcoin core developers and will allow Bitcoin withdrawals again once it has been approved and standardized.

In the meantime, exchanges and wallet services - and any service sending coins directly to third parties - should be extremely careful with anyone claiming their transaction did not go through.

Note that this will also affect any other crypto-currency using the same transaction scheme as Bitcoin.


Conclusion
To put things in perspective, it's important to remember that Bitcoin is a very new technology and still very much in its early stages. What MtGox and the Bitcoin community have experienced in the past year has been an incredible and exciting challenge, and there is still much to do to further improve.

MtGox will resume bitcoin withdrawals to outside wallets once the issue outlined above has been properly addressed in a manner that will best serve our customers.

More information on the status of this issue will be released as soon as possible.

We thank you for taking the time to read this, and especially for your patience.

Best Regards,
MtGox Team

https://www.mtgox.com/press_release_20140210.html

Wire: Business Wire (BUS) Date: Jan 30 2014  8:00:00
Mint Adds Bitcoin Transactions

********************************************************************************
 BN 01/30 08:01 *MINT ADDS BITCOIN TRANSACTIONS
********************************************************************************

  Mint Adds Bitcoin Transactions

  First Personal Finance Tool to let People View Digital Currency Alongside
                             Traditional Accounts

Business Wire

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- January 30, 2014

Mint, the leading personal finance app from Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU), now
lets users view their digital bitcoin transactions processed by Coinbase
alongside their traditional financial accounts.

Bitcoin is an emerging digital currency and a peer-to-peer payment system
which allows people to electronically manage transactions and the issuing of
bitcoins without using traditional financial institutions or other third
parties. Mint is free to use and provides personalized financial insights to
14 million users. It links users to more than 20,000 different banks, credit
cards, loan and investment accounts, allowing them to view their financial
statements in one place.

“By adding Bitcoin visibility, Mint becomes the only personal finance and
money management tool enabling users to view those transactions,” said Vince
Maniago, group product manager for Mint. “This added feature better serves
consumers’ changing financial needs and provides users with a more complete
financial picture.”

With more than 12 million bitcoins in circulation, Coinbase supports the
world's most widely used alternative currency. Coinbase is the largest and
fastest-growing bitcoin digital wallet service in the United States which
supports more than 870,000 consumer wallets, exceeding the customer base of
many mid-sized traditional banks.

“We’re excited to partner with Mint to allow joint customers to manage their
bitcoin wallets in much the same way as their bank accounts or credit cards,”
said Fred Ehrsam, co-founder of Coinbase. “This further demonstrates that
bitcoin is becoming more broadly adopted by consumers, and we look forward to
working with the team at Mint to help make that a reality.”

Mint is free to download and use from the App Store on iPhone, iPad and iPod
touch as well as for Android smartphone and tablets at Google Play and on the
Amazon Appstore. Mint is also available in the Windows Store for Windows 8.1
and the Windows Phone Store for Windows Phone 8.

Resources:

  * The Mint.com Blog - Mintlife
  * Mint.com
  * Mint.com on Twitter
  * Mint.com on Facebook
  * Mint.com on Google+

About Intuit Inc.

Intuit Inc. creates business and financial management solutions that simplify
the business of life for small businesses, consumers and accounting
professionals.

Its flagship products and services include QuickBooks®, Quicken® and
TurboTax®, which make it easier to manage small businesses and payroll
processing, personal finance, and tax preparation and filing. Mint.com
provides a fresh, easy and intelligent way for people to manage their money,
while Demandforce® offers marketing and communication tools for small
businesses. ProSeries® and Lacerte® are Intuit's leading tax preparation
offerings for professional accountants.

Founded in 1983, Intuit had revenue of $4.2 billion in its fiscal year 2013.
The company has approximately 8,000 employees with major offices in the United
States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India and other locations. More
information can be found at www.intuit.com.

Contact:

Intuit Inc.
Holly Perez, 650-944-6482
holly_perez@intuit.com

-0- Jan/30/2014 13:00 GMT

-----------------------------====================------------------------------
                              Copyright (c) 2014

################################ END OF STORY 1 ##############################

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/world/article/hong-kong-in-biggest-ever-bitcoin-giveaway

Hong Kongers snapped up HK$500,000 (RM215,412) in Bitcoin vouchers today to mark the Lunar New Year in what organisers said was the biggest ever giveaway of the currency – though some were confused about how to use it.

Young women in short skirts handed out 50,000 coupons worth HK$10 around the city all day and into the evening.

Vouchers were tucked into the red envelopes ubiquitous during the new year festival, embossed with the Chinese word for 'luck' in gold.


 
The envelopes –  known as 'lai see' or 'red pocket' –  usually hold cash and are given to family, colleagues and anyone else who deserves a thank you.

Hong Kong Bitcoin exchange ANXBTC said the giveaway was the biggest ever and hoped the 'digital lai see' would be a simple way to introduce Hong Kongers to the currency.

"There's a lot of information out there but for someone who's not so tech savvy it takes some time for them to get into it," ANX chief executive, Ken Lo told AFP.

Recipients scan the voucher's QR code which takes them to a website where they can set up a Bitcoin account just by entering their email, said Lo.

"There hasn't been any fighting because we have a lot (to give away), but there are a lot of people – even in our office they're lining up," said Lo.

But while shoppers in bustling Causeway Bay were happy to get a freebie, many were still confused as to what to do with it.

"I don't know anything about it," said estate agent Chan Wing-fung, 44, who asked an AFP reporter to explain it to him.

"It's not a currency with which I could control my losses or gains," said another recipient, who gave his name as Andrew.

"It's not really useful for me."

Lo admitted the city was 'behind the curve' on the virtual currency.

"There is so much money and big business and finance that people don't need to look anywhere else. They don't need to innovate," he said.

"It needs to get to the level where you walk into 7-11 and you pay the cashier and you get the Bitcoins."

Bitcoin was invented in the wake of the global financial crisis by a mysterious computer guru using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.

Unlike other currencies, it does not have the backing of a central bank or government. Instead, the units are generated by a complex computer algorithm designed by one or more anonymous people in 2009.

The volatility of its value has drawn criticism and the unregulated currency has also been linked to various kinds of criminal activity. – AFP, January 30, 2014.

You will have to verify yourself with Utility bill and ID Docs

Thanks !