We Will Regulate Bitcoin if Risks Are Not Tackled, EU Finance Head Says (theguardian.com)

The European Union has warned that it will regulate cryptocurrencies if the risks exposed by the meteoric rise of bitcoin and its ilk are not addressed. The Guardian: The boom and bust of cryptocurrencies has seen some investors make millions where others have suffered heavy losses. Bitcoin, which now trades around $9,000 a token but recently dropped to less than $6,000, leads the pack rising nearly 2,000% to just under $20,000 in 2017, fuelling a global investment craze. "This is a global phenomenon and it's important there is an international follow-up at the global level," Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU's financial chief, said on Monday. "We do not exclude the possibility to move ahead (by regulating cryptocurrencies) at the EU level if we see, for example, risks emerging but no clear international response emerging."

Comments

Regulations ARE needed

[sjbe]

will condescend to keeping their subjects from injuring themselves.

Actually yes you can turn off the sarcasm machine. We DO need regulation surrounding cryptocurrencies to protect people. We do have laws and police and regulations for very good reasons. Many of those reasons are to protect those who aren't able to protect themselves both from financial predators and sometimes from themselves. Why? Because A) it's the right thing to do morally and B) nobody exists in a financial vacuum so one person's bad decisions tends to affect others. Are you seriously arguing that we should have no regulations of financial systems? Or are you one of the more foolish varieties of libertarian who suffers from the delusion that unfettered capitalism with no rules is somehow a good thing?

Re: Regulations ARE needed

[Type44Q]

We DO need regulation surrounding cryptocurrencies to protect people.

Or perhaps stupidity should still be painful.

Re:How?

[xxxJonBoyxxx]

Usual way:
1) Politician/regulator will suggest something outlandish that will clearly cripple the industry
2) Well-heeled members of he industry direct cash payments to politician/regulator and/or their families/interests
3) Politician/regulator comes back with a different proposal that locks in dominance of top 2-3 players in industry and squashes everyone else
4) Top 2-3 industry players and politicians/regulators PROFIT; everyone else heads over to Slashdot and Reddit to complain

Re:Can you regulate it, though?

[Anonymous Coward]

How the fucking hell do they expect to regulate bitcoin if they can't also simultaneously regulate what people are and are not allowed to accept in exchange for goods or services?

By making it illegal to transfer the legal tender to or from a cryptocurrency ... essentially decree any such transaction is effectively money laundering or a drug deal. Cut out the entire banking system as a venue for exchange. Take a large amount of cash and go someplace where you can buy Bitcoin? Same as if you bought drugs.

Would Frank be legally prohibited from mowing Joe's lawn in exchange for letting Frank use Joe's washing machine once per week, for instance?

Now, imagine Joe is paying Frank in cocaine. Or child porn.

People don't understand that governments can and will regulate financial markets. And if the market basically says "ha, we can't be regulated" ... then the market will be outlawed.

For the same reason you can't barter with drugs and child prostitutes, in the extreme example, they just make any transactions involving cryptocurrency illegal, no matter what it is for.

The short version is, no matter what the visionaries think, you can't decree what you're doing is exempt from government regulation. Because the government won't recognize what you think you've done.