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
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Yes I agree. Although I don't think the US is doing enough to discourage it. Perhaps something in between?! :)
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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
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Good they need to learn especially if they are scamming and stealing! I don't know about death. Lol but prison definitely💯
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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
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And that's why they scammers who steal from the poor or rich belong in jail.
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Surely there is no such thing as a bad ICO... XD
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(Sarcasm font on) :)
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我还没有听说过被判死刑的。在中国。
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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
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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
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Then there is the Death to unauthorized public fundraising
https://cointelegraph.com/news/chinese-exchanges-issue-ico-warnings-amid-death-penalty-panic
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What are the controls like, I am not familiar with them?
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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!
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so good, Lock em up!!!!!!!
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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.
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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.
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Nice post i like your articvle @jrcornel
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Are they getting desperate to stop the wheels already in motion?
The train has left the station.
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In a sense it has, but remember, the ones that make the rules control everything...
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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???
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They are the government, they can do whatever they want.
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There is a strange thing about him ... or because of his crime then stay always with prison.
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Scams should always be punished specially on a big scale as some ICOs are. I think the one in China is a bit of an "overkill" (see what i did there?) but it is necessary to scare people from committing the crime I guess.
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Haha yes I did, very clever. I wonder how effective it is and preventing them?
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Well it must be effective since it is something public, it isn't a thing you can hide because noone will buy into it otherwise so it makes it a lot less possible at least in these countries.
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Very useful and interesting post, thanks for sharing thisbinfo @jrcornel
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I really have to find the guy on here who called me a "fool" and asked for "proof" when i told him that a large number of the ICOs were scams because many of them couldnt prove that they even had the first three lines of code for upcoming projects , and many of them failed when asked basic questions about the white paper
thanks sir, where ever you are for proving me right
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Haha. Don't you know, everyone is a genius on the internet :)
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Nice article :)
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I feel like ICO's are very risky and I believe a lot of people are on the same page with me. However I took a look at a couple of ICO's and I'm just saying that some of them look like they might have more of a future than others. I'm still sticking to the fact that after myspace came facebook. Just like everybody else, I'm waiting too. Don't put all your eggs in one basket, perhaps? It might not be ICO's but I'm looking into them and I think there are some legit ones around to stay for the long haul. Cheers!
#upvote #follow4follow
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Is Bitcoin myspace or is Steemit myspace? :)
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It's too early to say, I'll know in 2018 ! hahaha
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All the countries use theyr laws and they are happy with it (but not 100% happy)... I dont agree with the death sentence , I would like to be removed .
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so many scam ICOs out there. hmmmmmmm
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Some people are in for a rude awaking!
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At some point they'll realize that their tax revenues are falling and they'll either have to embrace it or starve. Less influential countries like Columbia , who can't simply manifest money out of thin air, are more prone to common sense (as much as any government has that ability) solutions.
The recent news about Vladimir Putin meeting with Vitalik Buterin at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum last week makes me wonder if the next stage of human economic freedom will emerge from Russia?
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It's possible. Russia has been undecided about what to do with Bitcoin and virtual currencies. It will be important to see which direction they ultimately go...
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It's difficult to make an informed guess where Russia is concerned. The western media likes to portray Putin as the anti-christ and yet his approval ratings at home would be the envy of any western politician who uses military force when forced to. I tend to view him as a very crafty statesman who has successfully avoided every bear-trap the West has set for him. All the while trying to bring his country into the 21st century. He seems to be pursuing the always successful doctrine of trade as opposed to the nation busting policy of warfare for profit.
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Not bad. At least they have a clear ruling on what is allowed (citizens can use bitcoin without fear) and not allowed (banks are banned, scammers will be punished harshly).
Financial crimes are just another form of violence. Jail time seems fair for any crime involving massive theft of money - although China's death penalty is probably too far for all, maaaybe excepting the most extraordinary cases of multi-billion dollar fraud.
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It's kind of strange as Colombia is the king country of corruption, and China is the king country of dictator control......but "digital baseball cards" being traded is the worst thing ever. Those wanting to play crypto-trading will find a way :-)
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Good point, as long as it is not made illegal there isn't really much to worry about.
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ICOs definitely need some regulation
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Yes please. It would be good for the entire industry. It does the legitimate projects no good when all these fraudulent ones are coming to market steal potential investment dollars from them and hurting their credibility.
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Death in China maybe a better option vs 20 years in a Columbian jail!
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Scary stuff!
Partially deserved if found guilty of defrauding hundreds of people of their hard earned money though.
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They should face life imprisonment....... enough is enough, thank God people has wise and stop following them, i only pity the newbie in the industry following wrong leader who are commission junkie.
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Nice picture
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Given the level of corruption in the US govt. They'll use this as a way to silence dissent. They'll call anyone they don't like a "scam" and go after them with the IRS!
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More of the status quo right?! ;)
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When ya find something that works...
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Who wants to scam?
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Big homie!
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In china corruptor will be in law dead master @jrcornel
Not like in Indonesia, corruptors are even better where they are in prison, rather than chicken thieves ,,,,, ironically poor country, with corruptors who are proud of their behavior.
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i couldn't agree more
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A well-written and informative piece, dear @jrcornel. ICOs are definitely a path, meant to be treaded with caution. And that needs more than just following a few trolls and gossip-mongers on crypto-forums, because that is NOT what determines how real the project is. One needs to do his/her share of thorough research.
Although I am old schooler (a bit like Warren Buffet) when it comes to cryptos and personal finance/investments, I am a complete newbie to the world of steemit. I hope you may find my introductory post interesting.
https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@themockmann/howdy-whooooo-namaste-from-themockmann-your-experimentalist-nerd-fitness-and-strength-enthusiast-and-a-cryptotrader-and-hodler
Cheers!
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Writing is very good and interesting, you are very amazing.
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Great post. We will hear a lot about politics and cryptocurrencies in the future. Someone should write an article about bitcoin and Russia, it's special there.
Upvoted.
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I wrote one a while back, will have to dig a bit to find it. Yes, I may have to revisit it. Russia is in the deciding phase of what they want to do with Bitcoin... if they were to legalize it, it would be huge for the price of Bitcoin.
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Communism is bad
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Stealing to make your living is a sorry way to live your life. And while I agree the death sentence is too severe, there needs to be a real consequence to committing crime against others via crypto.
I see crypto as the currency of the future, but not if it's treated like no one has any jurisdiction. I'm not talking about big gov, but some trusted panel, some remediation source that when a crime is found to have occurred, can share their findings with the authorities in any country. Something like that.
People are already struggling too much without some looser stealing their future out from under them through the few crypto they own, trying to get ahead and then an internet thief comes knocking.
PEACE.
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