The Crackdown On Alternative Currencies: Liberty Reserve Shut Down As Founder Arrested
from the money-laundering-or-competition dept
Are governments ramping up their efforts to crack down on alternative currencies that are outside of their control? In the past, we've seen politicians attack Bitcoin as a form of "money laundering." Then, a few weeks ago, ICE went after Mt.Gox, the super popular Bitcoin exchange. Now, the latest is that the founder of the digital currency site Liberty Reserve, which also dealt in Bitcoin, has been arrested and the site has been shut down. It's no secret that Bitcoin can and is used for less than legal purposes, and it does seem like Mt.Gox and Liberty Reserve aren't always perfect about complying with the ins and outs of running businesses that deal in currency. So these moves may be perfectly reasonable and legal. However, there is a larger concern about how these may suggest governments really taking a much harder look at things like Bitcoin, and closely targeting any company that is involved in Bitcoin exchanges with government-backed currencies.Filed Under: alternative currencies, bitcoin
Companies: dwolla, liberty reserve, mt. gox
