4 ms·

X (Twitter) Obtains License to Store, Transfer, and Trade Bitcoin and Crypto

27 points by gslin 3y ago

ChrisRR 3y ago
"Licence" to trade bitcoin. I thought bitcoin was supposed to be free of all those pesky regulations?
- playday 3y ago
  Bitcoin as a protocol can’t be regulated, but anyone using Bitcoin can be regulated. Same with taxes. In practice this means any entity that operates a registered company has its crypto operations regulated, while entities that operate fully on chain may not be regulatable (depending on structure and operational security decisions).
  - rewmie 3y ago
    I don't know what point you tried to make. Claiming that a protocol can't be regulated is completely irrelevant as the selling point of crypto as a currency is that it's operations are immune to regulation.
    - PretzelPirate 3y ago
      > selling point of crypto as a currency is that it's operations are immune to regulation. It's not that they are immune, it's that no one can stop you. That doesn't mean tat you won't have consequences, but if you live under an unethical reigme, the consequences may be worth it.
    - playday 3y ago
      Yeah if someone is telling you that crypto is immune to regulation they’re lying and probably trying to scam you.
      - rewmie 3y ago
        > Yeah if someone is telling you that crypto is immune to regulation they’re lying and probably trying to scam you. Isn't crypto synonymous with scams? https://time.com/personal-finance/article/popular-crypto-scams/ https://time.com/personal-finance/article/popular-crypto-sca...
    - rsynnott 3y ago
      I mean, if it was sold to you on that basis, the person doing the selling was lying to you; that’s obvious nonsense.
- bdcravens 3y ago
  Bitcoin is. The intersection of Bitcoin and fiat isn't.
ryanklee 3y ago
This will be stupid and horrible, and probably bend the arc of Musk's fate closer towards prison and bankruptcy.
- tibbydudeza 3y ago
  SBF all over again - ketamine instead of Aderall.
- random_kris 3y ago
  ngmi
- buggy6257 3y ago
  “No… please… stop…” Willy Wonka quote is appropriate here.
playday 3y ago
For those not familiar with us laws regarding money transmission licenses, they aren’t that hard to get in most states but the problem is that you have to get a license for every state you operate in- for an online business that’s 50 licenses. And there are capital requirements for each individual license, effective locking out web startups below a certain amount of capital. It’s part of why financial innovation in the us started with blockchains (which as protocols cannot comply) rather than tradfi like PayPal.
- joshstrange 3y ago
  Yep, I looked into this ~5 years or so ago for a side project and the money transmission licenses made the idea dead on arrival without outside funding which I really didn't want to do. Bootstrapping MTLs is pretty much unobtainable for most people. (This project had nothing to do with crypto at all, it was tool to help manage and pay off debt).
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

27 points by gslin 3y ago

ChrisRR 3y ago

"Licence" to trade bitcoin. I thought bitcoin was supposed to be free of all those pesky regulations?

playday 3y ago
Bitcoin as a protocol can’t be regulated, but anyone using Bitcoin can be regulated. Same with taxes. In practice this means any entity that operates a registered company has its crypto operations regulated, while entities that operate fully on chain may not be regulatable (depending on structure and operational security decisions).
- rewmie 3y ago
  I don't know what point you tried to make. Claiming that a protocol can't be regulated is completely irrelevant as the selling point of crypto as a currency is that it's operations are immune to regulation.
  - PretzelPirate 3y ago
    > selling point of crypto as a currency is that it's operations are immune to regulation. It's not that they are immune, it's that no one can stop you. That doesn't mean tat you won't have consequences, but if you live under an unethical reigme, the consequences may be worth it.
  - playday 3y ago
    Yeah if someone is telling you that crypto is immune to regulation they’re lying and probably trying to scam you.
    - rewmie 3y ago
      > Yeah if someone is telling you that crypto is immune to regulation they’re lying and probably trying to scam you. Isn't crypto synonymous with scams? https://time.com/personal-finance/article/popular-crypto-scams/ https://time.com/personal-finance/article/popular-crypto-sca...
  - rsynnott 3y ago
    I mean, if it was sold to you on that basis, the person doing the selling was lying to you; that’s obvious nonsense.
bdcravens 3y ago
Bitcoin is. The intersection of Bitcoin and fiat isn't.

ryanklee 3y ago

This will be stupid and horrible, and probably bend the arc of Musk's fate closer towards prison and bankruptcy.

tibbydudeza 3y ago
SBF all over again - ketamine instead of Aderall.
random_kris 3y ago
ngmi
buggy6257 3y ago
“No… please… stop…” Willy Wonka quote is appropriate here.

playday 3y ago

For those not familiar with us laws regarding money transmission licenses, they aren’t that hard to get in most states but the problem is that you have to get a license for every state you operate in- for an online business that’s 50 licenses. And there are capital requirements for each individual license, effective locking out web startups below a certain amount of capital. It’s part of why financial innovation in the us started with blockchains (which as protocols cannot comply) rather than tradfi like PayPal.

joshstrange 3y ago
Yep, I looked into this ~5 years or so ago for a side project and the money transmission licenses made the idea dead on arrival without outside funding which I really didn't want to do. Bootstrapping MTLs is pretty much unobtainable for most people. (This project had nothing to do with crypto at all, it was tool to help manage and pay off debt).

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]