Bitcoin recognized by Germany as 'Private Money'

CNBC ^ | August 19, 2013 | Matt Clinch

[Star Traveler]

Virtual currency bitcoin has been recognized by the German Finance Ministry as a "unit of account", meaning it is can be used for tax and trading purposes in the country.

Bitcoin is not classified as e-money or a foreign currency, the Finance Ministry said in a statement, but is rather a financial instrument under German banking rules. It is more akin to "private money" that can be used in "multilateral clearing circles", the Ministry said.

"We should have competition in the production of money. I have long been a proponent of Friedrich August von Hayek scheme to denationalize money. Bitcoins are a first step in this direction,"said Frank Schaeffler, a member of the German parliament's Finance Committee, who has pushed for legal classification of bitcoins.

[Star Traveler]

Another big supporter of Bitcoin is China.

[Star Traveler]

Silicon Valley catches Bitcoin fever
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3097361/posts

A Prediction: Bitcoin Is Doomed to Fail
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3097365/posts

Bits and Bob [analysis of Bitcoin]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3097370/posts

Bitcoin Under Pressure
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3097394/posts

Huge bitcoin heist: Black market drug shop Sheep Marketplace poofs with $40 million
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3097504/posts

Meet ‘Bitcoin Jesus,’ A Virtual Currency Millionaire
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3097691/posts

The secret Hong Kong facility that uses boiling goo to mine Bitcoins
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3097708/posts

Here’s What Critics Miss about Bitcoin’s Long-term Potential
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3097766/posts

The Rise and Fall of Bitcoin
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/11/mf_bitcoin/all/

[icwhatudo]

When the dollar is no longer the worlds currency, the $hit’s going to hit the fan.

[BfloGuy]

When the dollar is no longer the worlds currency, the $hit’s going to hit the fan.

Right, and our faces will be catching that breeze.

[Star Traveler]

China and Russia are working overtime to make that happen. If Saudi Arabia and OPEC abandons the US Dollar, the end will come quickly!

[glorgau]

China and Russia are working overtime to make that happen.

As is our President.

[Past Your Eyes]

“...meaning it is can be used...”

Nice.

[mikrofon]

Ich bin ein Bitcoiner

[TWhiteBear]

It is interesting to read an article by someone with an understanding of the theory of money. ‘unit of account’ is one function of money. ‘Store of value’ and ‘medium of exchange’ are the others.
When the TPTB understand how they can tinker with bitcoin, the days of the Fed, and other central banks, are numbered.
The wikpedia article on Hayek is a good start for those who want to discuss conservative or classical liberal or libertarian topics. The article has a lot of meaty quotes, like ‘Hayek argued that a monopolistic governmental agency like a central bank can neither possess the relevant information which should govern supply of money, nor have the ability to use it correctly’;
Of course, he was a great favorite of Reagan and Thatcher and ignored as much as possible by the Liberal media.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Hayek
TWB