A bitcoin-related bill in New Hampshire which exempts persons using virtual currency from registering as money transmitters in New Hampshire drew significant support during a commerce committee hearing.If approved, House Bill 436 will allow companies to operate without having to follow strict KYC and AML restrictions.The bill, sponsored by Rep.Barbara Biggie and co-sponsored by Reps.Keith Ammon and John Hunt, passed the state house of representatives last month.The speakers in favor far outnumbered those speaking against, the latter which was really only the New Hampshire banking commission.The purpose, according to the bill’s sponsor, Barbara Biggie, is to encourage innovation in New Hampshire.She said the state consumer protection act will regulate bitcoin use.She noted the Chamber of Digital Commerce supports the bill.State Banking Commissioner Jerry Little spoke against the measure and brought a subject matter expert to testify.“This proposes to exempt that industry from any oversight by New Hampshire,” he said.

He said it is known that things will go wrong with the transmission of virtual currency.“If there are problems, people will look to the banking department and say, ‘Where were you?’” he said.“You’re telling us to look the other way.” If the banking department has the authority to regulate, consumers can call the department to investigate issues.“We have legal authority to order full, complete restitution,” he said.“Compare that to the scene that you are contemplating” should a consumer have an issue.Little said if a consumer were to lose funds, the department would essentially be telling them to go and get a lawyer and try to find the company responsible.“It could be anywhere on the face of the earth,” he said.Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Innis told Little that he did not see virtual currency as a bank, but as an equity.Little responded that if the buyer of a registered stock complains to the SEC that the stock was registered with incorrect information, the buyer could be entitled to get their money back, but under the proposed amendment, the situation would be different.

“Do you want the SEC to be there when somebody sets up a sham corporation?” Little asked.Another senator noted that when the state government regulated the construct of investment properties, the entity still failed.He said this leads him to question how much government oversight should have since the agencies are not infallible.ethereum 1060 gtxLittle responded that in the case the senator cited there were multiple jurisdictions.qual meu endereço bitcoin“In this instance (of virtual currency) we’re creating an agency that does not have anybody regulating it,” he said.offizielle bitcoin app“We are giving the false impression that we are going to help that consumer,” said a lawmaker who opposes having the banking department regulate virtual currency.litecoin payment processor

If someone sends virtual currency and the transaction fails, they could call the banking department and ask them to take care of it.“I don’t think our banking department needs to be part of that,” he said.Also read: New Hampshire’s bill to deregulate bitcoin passes house Jeremy Kauffman, the governor’s advisor on the bill, said he moved to the state to work on a blockchain related business.bitcoin alma siteleriHe said the existing law regulates blockchain.ibm watson bitcoinThe company has a token which it hopes to sell.He said there is a need for blockchain-based tokens to be bought and sold.Kauffman said one company stopped operating in New Hampshire, the only state it does not operate in, because they are considered under the existing law to be a money transfer company.Kauffman said the only companies to oppose this new regulation are banks.

He said dealing with money license transmissions regulations is a “nightmare.” “Please leave this industry alone,” Kauffman said.“Technology goes where it’s welcome,” a lawmaker in favor of the bill said.He said it is important not to overregulate it.He said the bill will be a “middle ground” that includes consumer protection.A senior assistant attorney general spoke against the bill.Removing oversight of virtual currency tansmitters from the banking department’s purview would leave it to the state apartment of justice, he said, which only responds to issues after there is a complaint.One business owner who accepts bitcoin and has a bitcoin ATM said third parties are critical to bitcoin.In regard to consumers getting scammed.“None of the regulations will ever address that peer-to-peer scam,” he said.Ian Freeman, co-chairman of the New Hampshire Liberty Party, supported the bill.He said people who oppose the bill have engaged in fearmongering.Facebook YouTube Twitter Site Search Beyond Silk Road: Potential Risks, Threats, and Promises of Virtual Currencies Full Committee Hearing November 18, 2013 03:00 PM Location: SD-342, Dirksen Senate Office Building Member Statements Download Statement Witnesses Panel I Download Testimony Download Testimony Download Testimony Panel II Download Testimony Download Testimony Download Testimony Download Testimony Download Testimony Print Email

View the full video of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on virtual currencies here.Don't bother running from regulation, said an influential agency director at a key government hearing on Monday 18th  November – because in the long term, there's nowhere to hide.FinCEN director Jennifer Shasky Calvery warned virtual currency companies against fleeing US shores in the hope of more lenient regulatory frameworks elsewhere."If business is going to leave the United States based on perceived or actual regulatory burden, I always believe that they're going to find that gain short-lived,” she said.Calvery was responding to a question from Senator Tom Carper, chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee Hearing on Virtual Currency.He asked her about the danger of US companies leaving the US, and taking jobs and revenue with them, because of strict regulatory guidelines in the US.“If this virtual payment system is going to survive and be a real player in the financial system, regulation is going to catch up, because it has to.” “Every country has an interest in protecting its financial system from illicit actors who launder money or move it on behalf of terrorist organisations, in collecting taxes and protecting investors and protecting consumers from fraud, and ensuring a stable economy,” said Calvery.

“If this virtual payment system is going to survive and be a real player in the financial system, regulation, both at home and abroad, is going to catch up, because it has to.” The US participates in a Financial Action Task Force, which is an inter-governmental body designed to harmonise policies on anti-money laundering legislation.Calvery's sentiment drew criticism from  Jerry Brito, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and director of its Technology Policy Program, who also testified at the hearing."The danger is not that somebody who is trying to facilitate an illicit businesses will leave the US,” he said.“The danger is that real hard-working entrepreneurs who are looking to comply just don't find a regulatory environment that is amenable here.” Patrick Murck, general counsel for the Bitcoin Foundation, called for leadership in the banking industry to ensure that bitcoin companies were ‘on-boarded’, to avoid what he called a chilling effect on bitcoin in the US.

Those comments echo those of CoinDesk’s own contributing editor and head of the Bitcoin Foundation Jon Matonis, who penned an op-ed here over the weekend warning of weakening US influence in bitcoin trading.At the federal level, government speakers suggested that current regulations were adequate.Across the board, the Department of Justice, FinCEN, and the Secret Service suggested that existing statutes were sufficient to regulate virtual currencies as they stood, and didn't suggest new legislation specifically for bitcoin or other decentralised digital cash.Individual states were another issue.Jeremy Allaire, founder of Circle Internet Financial, highlighted challenges with how money transmission licences were granted in the US."There are a broad number of states, and divergent approaches that each state might take, and I do think that creates cost and complexity, and could be argued to be an unnecessary regulatory burden.But that is the system that we have."Allaire has already courted individual states in an attempt to negotiate operations there.

Allaire suggested that regulation was necessary in the virtual currency space, however, calling for a "higher bar" when dealing with financial services: "Two guys can build a photo sharing app and put it on the web and get one billion users.I don't think it's appropriate that two guys should be able to build a financial services business and operate that without sufficient investment to protect consumers and society."He realized this when raising his $9m in capital, he added.Others warned of the need to "send a message" to users of black-market sites such as Silk Road that they cannot trust those sites."There are many criminals migrating to hidden services on the Internet, and that has been a challenge for law enforcement," said Mythili Raman, acting assistant attorney general for the US Department of Justice’s Criminal Division."It can be frustrating to the public to see another website pop up after one that seems similar to it just having been taken down, but it is incredibly important for us to be taking those steps," she continued.

FinCEN’s Calvery closed her own statements by calling the ownership of a banking license a privilege, providing great power."While innovation is a wonderful thing, and innovation in the financial services industry is incredibly important, it does come with obligations to have that entry and be a part of the US financial system,” she added.“One of those obligations is to protect that system from illicit actors."Calvery called on virtual currency operators to do three things.Firstly, register with FinCEN, she said.Secondly, put solid AML practices in place."And maintain records and provide certain reports to FinCEN, including suspicious activity reports,” she concluded, pointing to existing players in the conventional fiat world.“They have all found a way to offer their services while maintaining those same protections.” The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is an independent media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies.