China loves digital currency, France wants to fight it, and the FBI doesn’t know how to handle it. Want to catch up on your latest digital currency news? Check out the stories below.
Also read: Industry Report: Bitcoin Thieves Abound As Popularity Skyrockets
CHINA
The civil code was introduced in the National People’s Congress on June 27 and states that all virtual and physical financial entities possess equal status. In other words, you can own bitcoin, and you can own yuan. Either way, they’re both money and they’ve both been created for the same purposes.
OKCoin founder Star Xu was enthusiastic about the law, stating:
“Since the Chinese laws have not clearly defined the virtual asset in the past, property disputes involving ‘virtual commodities’ are difficult to be resolved under the existing law. This proposed new civil law draft, which includes digital assets with legal rights, will contribute to the protection of such property rights while also establishing a framework for the development of future specific rules.”
PARIS
Despite the light in China, there’s a dark sky hovering over Paris. Bernard Debre of the National Assembly of France wants to place a ban on bitcoin in the city of Paris, fearing its use will lead to online drug purchases. Debre believes drug trafficking is at an all-time high. He’s also aiming to shut down “La Maison du Bitcoin” (the house of bitcoin), a bitcoin-advocacy organization operated by Ledger.
Following the terrorist attacks of last year, Debre is hard on his stance, and proposing that the country takes a legislative approach towards stopping anything that could further criminal activity.
THE FBI
Three years have gone by since the original Silk Road went offline. Ross Ulbricht is behind bars, and yet this story hasn’t come to a definite close.
Gary Davis, allegedly known as “Libertas” on the darknet market, is presently fighting his extradition to the U.S. He will not be charged for his involvement in Silk Road if he’s successful in his process.
Back in 2013, Microsoft was issued a warrant when the DOJ wanted to investigate a particular Outlook account belonging to Gary Davis. The case to which the investigation pertained was never revealed to Microsoft, and the company is now seeking legal assistance regarding what they say was a “breach of privacy.”
The case is in the hands of the US Court of Appeals and is likely to set new precedents for the technology industry. The outcome should be decided in July, and Microsoft is receiving support from several technology companies ranging from Apple to Cisco and AT&T.
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Image courtesy of Alexandre Beaudry blog.