Transcript Bitcoin Thomas Spaas- BFC 15 Oct

BITCOIN, THE BLOCKCHAIN
AND THE LAW
tax & legal framework
impact of blockchain-based technologies on the legal space
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Introduction
•
Cryptocurrencies & the law
•
Impact of blockchain-based technologies on
the legal space
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THOMAS SPAAS
•
° 1980
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Director of Belgian Bitcoin
Association
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Lawyer at Bar of Antwerp,
specialising in:
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Belgian and international taxation
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cryptocurrencies
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[email protected]
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+32 477 36 49 33
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CRYPTOCURRENCIES
& THE LAW
or
?
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CRYPTOCURRENCIES
& THE LAW
focus on selected problems:
financial regulations & tax law
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CRYPTOCURRENCIES
& THE LAW
•
Important reminder: regulations are splintered, definitions are not
consistent
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Example: “Bitcoin is money” (agree or disagree)
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“Money” in the economic sense
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≠
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“Money” in civil law
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≠
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“Money” in financial regulations
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≠
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“Money” in VAT legislation
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CRYPTOCURRENCIES
& THE LAW
•
EU Financial
regulations
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E-money Directive
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Payments Services
Directive
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Mifid-Directive
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•
CRYPTOCURRENCIES
&
THE
LAW
E-money Directive (Directive 2009/110/EC)
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Art.2.2: “electronic money” means electronically, including
magnetically, stored monetary value
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as represented by a claim on the issuer which is issued on
receipt of funds for the purpose of making payment
transactions as defined in (the Payment Services Directive),
and which is accepted by a natural or legal person other than
the electronic money issuer;
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NO “ISSUER” -> bitcoin ≠ e-money as defined in the
directive
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CRYPTOCURRENCIES
&
THE
LAW
• Payment Services Directive (Directive 2007/64/EC)
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Execution of payment transactions ? or
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Money remittance ?
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Using the bitcoin network as such, w/o interaction w fiat
money ≠ payment transaction ≠ money remittance
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BUT… using the bitcoin network to execute a classic
payment transaction or to remit classic money =
payment service
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-> bitcoin exchanges may qualify as payment service
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providers
•
CRYPTOCURRENCIES
& THE LAW
MIFID Directive (Directive 2004/39/EC)
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“Financial instruments” -> broad definition, but always
seems to require a right on the issuer
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Bitcoin ≠ financial instrument
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but bitcoin derivatives = financial instrument
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NOTE: bitcoin derivatives cannot be marketed to the
public in Belgium (FSMA) - selling bitcoin as such is
not restricted
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CRYPTOCURRENCIES
&asTHE
LAWout of scope of
• Conclusion: bitcoin
such is currently
most (EU) financial regulations
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At the edge (interaction with classic system) financial
regulations may apply
•
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E.g. bitcoin exchanges -> probably a payment service
provider, with relevant AML/KYC provisions and
guarantees
NOTE: watch out for other regulations, such as 3.000 EUR
cash limit for merchants (relevant for bitcoin ATM
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operators)
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CRYPTOCURRENCIES
& THE LAW
TAX LAW
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Income taxes: income is income, regardless of whether
obtained in bitcoin, fiat, gold…
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VAT: buying something with bitcoin = normal VAT rules
applicable
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BUT: buying bitcoin with fiat money = VAT-able
transaction?
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EU Court of Justice to decide
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IMPACT OF BLOCKCHAIN-BASED
TECHNOLOGIES ON THE LEGAL
SUSKIND “Embedded
legal knowledge” = programs
SPACE
and IT systems that incorporate legal rules (laws &
contracts)
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What else is bitcoin than (inter alia) “possession vaut
titre”?
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No government or central organisation to enforce these
rules
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Bitcoin-rules are self-executing
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Could we use the blockchain for other purposes?
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IMPACT OF BLOCKCHAIN-BASED
TECHNOLOGIES ON THE LEGAL
SPACE
Some other applications of the decentralised blockchain in the legal
sphere:
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land titles
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votes
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patents
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ID documents
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professional certifications
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…
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IMPACT OF BLOCKCHAIN-BASED
TECHNOLOGIES ON THE LEGAL
SPACE
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Smart contracts
(ETHEREUM)
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Contract, terms and
conditions kept in
blockchain-like system and
automatically executed in a
decentralised way
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Contract is not running on
single computer but “as if”
on many computers at once
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FINAL NOTE
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What we often hear from bankers
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“I like the blockchain, but I don’t like bitcoin.”
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OK, but…
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decentralised ≠ free
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parties that secure the network need an incentive
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blockchain & currency go hand in hand
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difficult to have one w/o the other
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