House votes to keep bitcoins unregulated in New Hampshire Endorses measure to exempt the currency from state banking rules March 9, 2017 The NH House on Wednesday approved a bill that would prevent the state from regulating the virtual currency bitcoin.House Bill 436 would exempt companies converting or transmitting virtual currency from state banking laws that regulate money transmitters, such as Western Union, though they will be subject to the NH Consumer Protection Act.Supporters said that the exemption would broadcast that the burgeoning industry is welcome in the Granite State.Kermit Williams, D-Wilton, maintained on the House floor that current banking regulations would not interfere in most peer-to-peer transactions among those who are savvy enough with the new technology to do so on their own.However, they would oversee third-party services that convert cash into bitcoins “for people who can’t figure it out”.“If you know what you are doing, you don’t need any help, but those who don’t understand virtual currency should be treated fairly,” he said.

Why would those who don’t understand bitcoins want to trade in them?Sometimes they don’t have a choice, said Rep.Timothy Smith, D-Manchester, adding that he had received a “frantic phone call” from the victim of a ransomware scheme.Faced with a virus that threatened to clean out his hard drive unless he came up with a bitcoin payment, he turned to a third party, which promptly scammed him out of $5,000 in real currency that he cashed in for ransom.But House Commerce Committee Chair John Hunt, R-Rindge, said that those in the industry say such regulations would keep the growing industry out of the state.“Nobody is saying, ‘Please give us this protection,’” Hunt said.“They are saying, ‘Please don’t give us this protection.This is the 21st century, not the 19th century.’” The House passed the exemption, 185-170.Edit Module Edit ModuleAs the government considers regulating Bitcoin, speculation has sent the digital currency's value skyward.That has meant profit for Libertarians and Free Staters in New Hampshire who started using Bitcoin in opposition to currency regulation.

Would the government's acceptance of Bitcoin undermine its value to early adopters?LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST: Bitcoin, which is basically digital cash, has been getting a lot of hype lately as governments such as Germany, China, now the United States begin to recognize its validity.That recognition has led to financial speculation; and bitcoin's value has soared, hitting a thousand dollars for the first time this week.ethereum node list[POST-BROADCAST CORRECTION: This week marked the second time bitcoin's value reached $1,000.] New Hampshire Public Radio's Emily Corwin recently visited a group of early bitcoin backers, who seem to have hit the jackpot.ethereum total number of coinsEMILY CORWIN, BYLINE: So the more I heard about the booming value of bitcoin, the more I thought of the Libertarians and Anarchists who have made New Hampshire their home.how to start bitcoin mining nvidia

People in this liberty community were early adopters of bitcoin, and I figured, these guys must be making bank.So I asked a friend to set up a meeting for me.And when I arrived, a small of group of Anarchist and Libertarian-type folks were gathered around a table, looking at something.PEDRO AGUIAR: Right, it's about four-by-four inches.And it has a circuit board and a heat sink and a fan sitting on top of it.litecoin chart usdAnd it plugs into computer via USB.ethereal gem board game onlineCORWIN: Pedro Aguiar describes a dusty piece of hardware he purchased for $150 a year ago.bitcoin employee deadWhen he plugs this device into his computer, Aguiar says, he joins a network of computers that collectively mint new bitcoins.AGUIAR: I want to be part of what maintains bitcoin.

CORWIN: When some of these folks started using bitcoins, they were worth just a couple dollars each.Recently, bitcoin are going for as much as a thousand dollars apiece.As Pedro Aguiar says, it feels like winning the lottery.AGUIAR: I mean it's exhilarating.CORWIN: People in this community tend to be pretty cagey about sharing personal financial details.So it was hard to get anyone to tell me exactly how many bitcoins they own.But one person did say he invested relatively little, back in 2011 when each coin was worth just six or $7.He says today, he has more than 10 times his annual salary in bitcoins.Of course, the return on investment is not what got this crowd into bitcoin.Mike Segal is a libertarian-leaning software engineer.MIKE SEGAL: I wanted to support the effort because of what it represents.Whether or not bitcoin itself would take off and make me money, that wasn't so much my concern.My concern was to support a growing crypto-currency economy.CORWIN: The idea here is to create a currency that circumvents both the government and taxes; and avoids banks and transaction fees.

As Anarchist Curt Howland puts it... CURT HOWLAND: Bitcoin started as, hey, stick your finger in the eye of the man.CORWIN: See, these folks detest centralized government.HOWLAND: I would like to make a soufflé in Washington D.C., and then jump up and down real hard so that it just went shhhuptck, down and collapsed.(LAUGHTER) HOWLAND: That would be great.That is what I'd like to make of the federal government.CORWIN: And here we arrive at the big paradox.It is recognition from federal governments both here and abroad that is driving the value of bitcoin ever higher, accelerating its use and encouraging speculation.In essence: Making it more successful.Howland says he worries federal recognition could inevitably lead to federal regulation.And as far as he's concerned, that would jeopardize the currency's biggest advantage.Mike Segal, the software engineer, says the problem is deeper than just disliking the feds.He says, let's say the government starts tracking bitcoins, and finds out some were exchanged for sex or drugs.