The sex videos freelegal debate over bitcoin is getting tricky across state lines.
Is bitcoin money? A judge in New York on Monday ruled it is.
The ruling followed an opposite conclusion in Florida in July. A judge in that state dismissed charges of illegally transmitting and laundering $1,500 in bitcoin on the grounds that bitcoin wasn't a currency.
This time around, US District Judge Alison Nathan declined to dismiss charges against Anthony Murgio for operating an unlicensed bitcoin exchange. Murgio had argued to have his charges dismissed because bitcoins did not qualify as "funds" noted in federal law forbidding unlawful money transmitting, according to Reuters.
"Bitcoins are funds within the plain meaning of that term," Nathan wrote in her decision. "Bitcoins can be accepted as a payment for goods and services or bought directly from an exchange with a bank account. They therefore function as pecuniary resources and are used as a medium of exchange and a means of payment."
That's a different conclusion than the one a Florida judge drew about the cryptocurency.
"They [bitcoin] are certainly not tangible wealth and cannot be hidden under a mattress like cash and gold bars," Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Teresa Mary Pooler wrote in July.
The New York ruling complicates the trend of how bitcoin has been defined across states.
In Kansas and Texas, regulators have said bitcoin would not be counted as currency when it comes to the states' money transmitter laws. New York's ruling is one of the first to move in a different direction.
At the same time, it's more in line with what experts think. Even if bitcoin isn't exactly a currency, it still has "tangible value" and can be laundered like anything else, David Yermack, chair of the finance department at the New York University Stern School of Business, where he teaches the course "Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies," said in July.
Murgio's New York case tied back to a hacking scheme that targeted JP Morgan. The owner of Coin.mx ran that large-scale 2014 hacking operation, Reuters reported.
If only Murgio had operated his bitcoin exchange in Florida.
Topics Bitcoin
(Editor: {typename type="name"/})
Best smart scale deal: Get 15% off an Etekcity scale at Amazon
How Hannah Gadsby's 'Nanette' made it to Netflix
Homeless man photographed handing out resumes lands job offers
Somebody dropped more than $87,000 on a Magic: The Gathering card
3 tips for creating viral content from the creators who get it done
Facebook bans 'InfoWars' founder Alex Jones for 30 days
China invites reporter to take sledgehammer to its longest glass bridge to prove it's safe
Thai man almost loses home to monster monitor lizard
Best IPL deal: Save $80 on Braun IPL Silk·Expert
This is probably what Apple's upcoming iPhones will look like
Best free AI courses you can take online
The Tommy Jeans Xplore smart clothing line is all about rewards
接受PR>=1、BR>=1,流量相当,内容相关类链接。