[cs702]

Germany is acting very logically in response to Bitcoin. Their thinking: "if a growing number of people are using it as a store of value or medium of exchange, or as a vehicle for financial speculation, let's regulate and tax its use."

This bodes well for Bitcoin, because other countries are likely to follow Germany's example.

[walden42]

> However, companies wanting to use it for commercial transactions would need permission from the Federal Financial Supervision Authority.

That's not a good thing for bitcoin, though, or for the free market in general. One of the main ideas behind bitcoin is its ease of use compared to exisiting methods. The more regulations and limitations imposed on it, the more it becomes like everything else, in terms of ease of use.

[VMG]

It would be a bad thing if Bitcoin could be controlled that way. Luckily, the government cannot influence bitcoin transactions.

[PeterisP]

There is no need to influence transactions technically, it's just clarifying existing law - when doing/receiving Bitcoin transactions, you follow the same rules [or else].

No matter if your income is in Euro, Yen, gold, goats, casino chips, redeemable in-game credits, gems, Bitcoin or anything that may ever be invented - that income is taxable.

If you are offering to hold deposits of value for public, or value transfers to third parties - no matter if that is in Euro, Yen, gold, goats, casino chips, redeemable in-game credits, gems, Bitcoin - you need to follow the financial service regulations.

The only way to avoid that is if (while) your "new money" is useless as money, i.e., you can't buy stuff with it.

[walden42]

Of course they can't, but they can regulate its use and acceptance in their country. Eg. more paperwork/licenses required to accept them, a more difficult taxation process, etc.

[Osiris]

With the exception that it's supply and exchange rate cannot be (easily) manipulated by governments, which removes a significant power that they currently exercise over fiat currencies.

[aianus]

The exchange rate can be manipulated by governments just as easily as conventional currencies. The government (or central bank) just needs to engage in open-market transactions using its large reserves of fiat and/or bitcoin.

For example, the Bank of Japan could lower the value of the yen against the bitcoin by purchasing large amounts of bitcoin using yen on the open market.

[celticninja]

at least within the EU anyway.