From being put to death in China, to being jailed for 20 years in Colombia...
Governments are cracking down big time on ICO scams and the ones running them.
In a news release this morning it was reported that the Colombian government is starting to sour a bit on the virtual currency, Bitcoin.
Not because of anything to do with Bitcoin itself, but partly because of the number of scams being perpetrated because of them.
The Financial Superintendent of Colombia, Jorge Castano Gutierrez, has been speaking out lately warning citizens, as well as the banks, of the scams being run using virtual currencies. Most of them revolving around illegal fund raising activities.
Harsh punishments
Those involved with running Bitcoin pyramid schemes in Colombia could face up to 20 years of imprisonment according to Gutierrez.
Not quite as harsh as being put to death like in China:
However, still much harsher than most places in the world.
Gutierrez said he plans to target both the ones running the scams as well as the ones promoting them.
The promoters better make sure they know what they are promoting before they get involved...
Colombia's official stance on Bitcoin
As of right now, they have prohibited all banks from dealing in Bitcoins or any other virtual currency currently with no plans to regulate them in the near future.
However, Gutierrez also went on to clarify that Colombia has no intention of making Bitcoin illegal in his country either. As of right now they plan on allowing it in the country but have no plans of making it legal tender.
He had this to say on the matter:
“Bitcoin is not an asset that can be considered a currency because it does not have the support of the central banks of any countries”.
It sounds kind of like a catch-22. He doesn't want to accept it as an official currency because no one else is accepting it as an official currency. Does that mean if suddenly more countries start accepting, legalizing, and regulating it, Colombia would follow suit?
Probably so.
I imagine there are many countries that feel the same way.
We just need those first couple shoes to drop.
Japan was a big step in that direction, now we just need a couple more of the major players to go that route and the rest will likely follow suit.
Not regulated, not accepted, but not banned
Keep in mind that people are still free to use and transact in Bitcoins in the country and there doesn't seem to be any immediate plans to change that stance.
They just don't plan on making it legal tender either.
The number of people using and trading Bitcoins has been growing pretty steadily as of late. According to Localbitcoins.com the weekly volume of Bitcoins priced in Colombian Pesos was over 2 billion in the month of May.
Perhaps if that trend continues it will also force the government's hand?
Stay informed my friends!
Sources:
Image Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Colombia
http://reserlaw.com/white-collar-crime-attorney-oklahoma-city-edmond-moore-norman-reser-law/
https://coin.dance/volume/localbitcoins/COP
Follow me: @jrcornel
sounds scary . death sentence a bit too much
Yes I agree. Although I don't think the US is doing enough to discourage it. Perhaps something in between?! :)
This is really a very informative content which creates good awareness on ICO scam.. I am glad to connect with such a good writer and will invite you to go through my post and add your suggestions for me to grow like you are growing .. for our mutual success .. have a nice day ahead
Good they need to learn especially if they are scamming and stealing! I don't know about death. Lol but prison definitely💯
Innocent people who don't have any idea about these things are getting scammed, even those who are using internet for a long time have no idea what cryptocurrency is, and scammers are just showing them the bitcoin rapid increase rate and telling them this new fraud currency is going to be like BTC and get their money and investment @jrcornel
And that's why they scammers who steal from the poor or rich belong in jail.
Surely there is no such thing as a bad ICO... XD
(Sarcasm font on) :)
我还没有听说过被判死刑的。在中国。
They take financial crimes seriously in China
I use Localbitcoins here in China. A good way to bypass the controls on the official bitcoin exchanges
You could not withdraw from chinese bitcoin exchanges for a few months
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-01/china-s-largest-bitcoin-exchanges-to-again-allow-withdrawals
Also they have lots of influence in Bitcoin becuase of the large number of bitcoin miners here
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/03/business/dealbook/bitcoin-china.html
Then there is the Death to unauthorized public fundraising
https://cointelegraph.com/news/chinese-exchanges-issue-ico-warnings-amid-death-penalty-panic
What are the controls like, I am not familiar with them?
Im glad! This is what makes ICO's very risky, since they are not an official cryptocurrency in anyway it is a very ballsy move, and when people claim to be a cryptocurrency to scam people out of their investment money, it gives crypto a bad name and potentially will drive away investors!
so good, Lock em up!!!!!!!
it's people with bad intentions that give cryptocurrency a bad name and take people's attention way from the legitimate and useful uses of cryptocurrency.
Yes I agree. I feel that punishment for most white collar crimes here in the US is way too lax. However, the death penalty is way too extreme. Something in between the two would do just fine.
Nice post i like your articvle @jrcornel
Are they getting desperate to stop the wheels already in motion?
The train has left the station.
In a sense it has, but remember, the ones that make the rules control everything...
From what I understand , they cannot control crypto, other than try to make coinbase and such report their sales, but many ways to get it anonymously. But who knows right???
They are the government, they can do whatever they want.
so many scam ICOs out there. hmmmmmmm