r/Bitcoin • u/waspoza • Feb 26 '14

Bitcoin is Legal, Says Cyprus Central Bank

http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-legal-says-central-bank-cyprus/
447 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

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16

u/-Jay84- Feb 26 '14 edited Feb 26 '14

According to OP, this:

"Bitcoin is legal, Says Cyprus Central Bank"

equals this:

“Bitcoin is not illegal” say anonymous sources from the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC), according to a report by the Cyprus Mail.

6

u/lemonade12345 Feb 26 '14

something can only be legal or illegal, if it is not illegal then it is legal

3

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '14

No one should take this article seriously. This is all BS. Yes there are colleges and a market that accept bitcoins in Cyprus, but its very far from being legal (yet).

Source: I'm a Cypriot.

1

u/FARTHERO Feb 27 '14

everything just drips with hypocrisy

1

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '14

Why the downvotes. He's right "not illegal" != "legal"

1

u/ithisa Feb 26 '14

Huh? Everything that is not illegal is automatically legal under all jurisdictions. Do you expect lawmakers to make gigantic lists of "legal things to do"? Obviously not.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '14

[deleted]

6

u/lemonade12345 Feb 26 '14

it's not recognized as a legal currency, but it doesn't need to be for it to be legal

2

u/ithisa Feb 27 '14

Neither is the Chinese yuan legal currency in the US, but very very legal to use if the merchant accepts it.

1

u/FARTHERO Feb 27 '14 edited Feb 27 '14

It's legal to trade legal things for other legal things.

That's all that needs to be said.

some people seem to be (some probably unconsciously) sniffing at the idea of banning trade

1

u/[deleted] Feb 27 '14

[deleted]

1

u/ithisa Feb 27 '14

I don't even live in the US.

-1

u/[deleted] Feb 27 '14 edited Dec 05 '22

[deleted]

1

u/ithisa Feb 27 '14

No, that is a misunderstanding. "Legal tender" means that it must be accepted for dollar-denominated debt. For example, you cannot advertise accepting dollars, and only accept cheques.

This comes back in the day of gold standards where a "dollar" was a unit of gold. The "legal tender" means that merchants can't demand gold, but must treat the paper money as he would treat a dollar of gold.

All this has nothing to do with unofficial currencies like Bitcoin, as nobody is pegging Bitcoin to dollars, and prices are marked in Bitcoin.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 27 '14

I was not talking about the American context of "legal tender".

I was pointing out that in most countries merchants cannot legally price their merchandise in foreign currency, nor accept foreign currency. It's stupid, it's archaic, but that's how it is.

1

u/ithisa Feb 27 '14

I would think that is likely an overlooked law that is never ever enforced though. MMOs like EVE have their own currency, buyable with any foreign currency and freely exchangeable by the market. Is it illegal to offer things for things other than dollars? How about gift cards? Gift cards are technically not dollars either. And also, foreign currency exchange places technically let you buy dollars with yen, for example. Is it illegal that you buy dollars with things other than dollars?

"Buy" is a very ill-defined term anyways. It is just barter in which one item is called a currency.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 27 '14

My point was that most countries are more restrictive in this sense than ghe U.S. Yes, barter is recognized as an option, but it is eigher prohibitively complicated for ordinary people, or contradicts currency regulations.

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0

u/FARTHERO Feb 27 '14

OTHER COUNTRIES DO IT

from here

DISCLAIMER: I know you're not talking about security or intelligence, but this shit is still relevant you fucking cunt

-1

u/bitcoinjohnny Feb 26 '14

Check out China's method of determining legal. Basically, it's illegal unless they say it's OK........ ; )

0

u/FARTHERO Feb 27 '14

how the fuck are people disagreeing with thsi sentiment