Congress discussing new bill to make it illegal not to disclose your ownership of cryptocurrencies to the government
BY KEN SCHORTGEN
THEDAILYCOIN.ORG
DECEMBER 6, 2017
Congress discussing new bill to make it illegal not to disclose your ownership of cryptocurrencies to the government by Ken Schortgen – The Daily Economist
In the wake of last night’s announcement by UK Finance Ministers that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies need to be strongly regulated due to their potential for funding terrorism and acting as a medium of exchange in money laundering, a potential new bill in the U.S. is being debated that would force all Americans who own cryptocurrencies of any fashion to report their ownership to government authorities.
“The US Senate is reportedly considering a bill to outlaw the concealment of ownership of digital currency accounts by American citizens domestically and abroad.
The Senate Judiciary Committee says existing anti-money laundering (AML) laws need to be modernized. The bill will amend the definition of ‘financial account’ and ‘financial institution’ to include cryptocurrencies and digital exchanges.
Experts warn that if the law is passed, it will likely have far-reaching effects for digital currencies’ users both in the US and abroad. “It’s bad… I think it’s going to end in a very confrontational way between bitcoin—even bitcoin holders and users—and the US Government,” said Tone Vays, the head of research at BraveNewCoin and a 10-year Wall Street veteran. – Russia Today
The U.S. already has regulations in place through FATCA which force foreign banks to have to disclose accounts held by American citizens under the guise of cracking down on tax avoidance and hidden safe havens.
It appears we are now starting to see the crackdown on cryptocurrencies by sovereign governments at a time when more and more wealthy individuals are funneling their cash into alternative forms of currency, and where fears of capital flight are becoming more prevalent in the face of a future financial crash.
