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RE: Is trading on LocalBitcoins Illegal? What is Legal trading?
Unfortunately, I have a feeling that more people are going to break this law in the future, especially as the demand for cryptocurrencies increases worldwide. Thanks for creating this post, it's incredibly fascinating
Why is that unfortunate? Trading bitcoins for dollars is NOT against the law anyway - the government's case is completely without merit. This is purely an act of desperation by the Feds. They see that they are losing control of currency itself and are terrified. Make no mistake, the criminals in this case are the ones with badges and costumes.
I think that the problem here in the post is that the people who are benefiting from the money transmitting are not the people actually conducting the transactions. When a money transmitter is unlicenced, they might accidentally launder money, forget to pay taxes, or break other laws unknowingly. These have larger implications of course.
People should educate themselves and stay above the law while conducting business, especially when it's other people's money that's valued in the millions...
A permit doesn't establish or maintain someone is apt or not at whatever the license or permit is for. A person or business doesn't magically become less prone to accidentally laundering money, forgetting to pay taxers, or breaking other laws, simply because a permit says their name.
That false sense of security is how scams happen, confidence is high.
I feel compelled to address the money laundering issue here, but suddenly realize that, while your statements regarding licensing are canon per license issuers, they are utterly vacuous.
Please do not mistake my dismissal of the canon as in any way reflective on you personally, but as an indictment of a system that is dependent on exactly the things you have stated as reasons for licensing.
Not so long ago (okay, probably a long time ago) Warren Buffet remarked that he, and his wealthy ilk, paid less taxes than the average wage earner, because he could afford competent tax preparation services.
Anyone that does not know that all the proceeds of black markets are laundered by banks simply doesn't grasp the concept.
As to other laws, I will leave that to independent researchers, like George Webb Sweigert, who seems to have considerable evidence of most of them being violated routinely, by the most trusted organizations extant.
Trusted, at least, by the financial system itself.
I, at last, must be left with only one reason to support licensing, and that is to limit the size of the market, to protect margins.
I absolutely agree with you that people should take care when conducting business, and particularly when doing so with other people's assets. It's just the right thing to do, after all.
However, when it comes to my money, I reckon the only hand on it besides mine I will trust, is God's.
Thanks!
costumes! lol
Breaking the law is not a good idea. If someone is smart enough to get into bitcoin, then he should be smart enough to do it within the legal boundaries.
Absolutely, I agree. You would think people taking millions of dollars of currency would stop and think about the federal requirements... I wonder how many people who get arrested for this will even know they're breaking a law...
You are new to crypto and probably don't know this, but bitcoin was designed to make government obsolete. This is EXACTLY why government is so scared of it being traded and used as currency.
That's true and also one of the reasons I'm interested in learning more about it, however that doesn't mean that people should try to avoid their government's laws for financial gain. But obviously it's going to happen with more frequency in the future
Why not, why should we avoid taxes and bullshit permits every chance we have?
Why should we bow to every obsolete law and mandate, which is arbitrary at best and because of that can be interpreted a million ways from Sunday. Why is it ok to tell your neighbor how to run his business? You wouldn't tell him how to eat and shit but you'll tell him how he can and cannot make a profit.
You tell me, why should you avoid taxes and bull**** permits every chance you have? I'm not telling you to murder, I'm telling you to pay your taxes.
Follow the laws you believe in and suffer the consequences. It's that simple.
You tell me why should we pay taxes and get bullshit permits, because as it stands taxation is theft and permits aren't necessary, period.
Better yet, don't offer advice like "pay your taxes, get your permit" without backing it with a WHY and a HOW, and least of all don't recoil from answering those questions and flip it on the questioner to establish why you shouldn't, because it won't make your advice any more sound, it's still nonsense that crumbles at the touch of inquiry.
You simply make your own decision. If you choose to break the law then you choose to suffer the consequences if found out. That's my whole position. Why? Because taxes show thankfulness to our fellow-countrymen and to mankind. How? By paying your taxes and contributing to your society. You can keep arguing about this position, but at the end of the day, I'm not arguing back. I'm simply sharing what I believe.
Warning , circular reasoning ahead!
You can keep believing what you're sharing, regardless of logic or ethics and in the end you won't have to consider either.