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posted by Fnord666 on Friday June 23 2017, @06:12PM   Printer-friendly
from the bitcoins-are-like-cash dept.

U.S. Congress wants to pass a bill that would put serious fines ($10K for bitcoins as opposed to $5K for cash, IIRC) and jail time (ten years, as opposed to five IIRC) if you cross the border without reporting your bitcoins (in addition to confiscating your bitcoins of course).

http://www.coindesk.com/forfeit-bitcoin-congressional-bill-draws-fire-border-check-rules/

A group of US lawmakers wants to see cryptocurrency holdings declared at the nation's border – and advocates of the tech are pushing back.

Introduced last month, the Combating Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Counterfeiting Act of 2017 – which is actually the third iteration of a bill that debuted in 2011 – would bring a range of digital currency services under federal scrutiny, including those that provide transaction mixing services.

Yet, the provision that has attracted the particular ire of cryptocurrency advocates – especially those who prefer a regulation-light environment – is one that would make such holdings subject to disclosure requirements at US customs checkpoints. This means if a person trying to enter the country has more than $10,000 worth of bitcoin in their possession, under the proposed legal change, they would need to inform the relevant authorities.

Such requirements are already in place for payment methods like cash. But given the rising public profile of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, coupled with the perception among policymakers that they could be used to fund terrorist activities, is driving legislative efforts like the bill currently under consideration.

[...] Thus far, the bill hasn't advanced significantly since being introduced last month, public records show. On 25th May, the measure was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee for further consideration.

At press time, representatives for Senators Chuck Grassley and Diane Feinstein hadn't responded to CoinDesk requests for comment. The bill is also being sponsored by Senators John Cornyn and Sheldon Whitehouse, constituting a group of two Republicans and two Democrats.


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  • (Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Friday June 23 2017, @07:07PM (8 children)

    Any deposit of $10,000.00 or more.

    So you think you can get away with depositing $1000 on ten different days? The feds have an answer to that: it's called "structuring".

    Some restaurant owner had her life savings frozen by her bank because she deposited large amounts of cash, but never so much that is was $10k all at once.

    --
    Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 23 2017, @08:28PM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 23 2017, @08:28PM (#530218)

    $10,000 was chosen back when that was a shitload of money—when it hardly affected anyone.

    Now, it affects everyone; it's a perfect example of how a government's power grows in the most insidious ways.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 23 2017, @09:02PM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 23 2017, @09:02PM (#530237)

      No, it's called inflation. $10k thirty years ago is the same as over $20k today.

      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 23 2017, @09:21PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 23 2017, @09:21PM (#530251)

        The Bank Secrecy Act [wikipedia.org] was passed in 1970; back then, $10k was worth about as much as $65k today! [bls.gov]

        Also, I'm not sure what your point is; you seem to be agreeing with the OP.

        Putting aside government's manipulation of currency, we can still ask the question: Why didn't the government update its criterion to match inflation? The reason is that leaving it as $10k meant that without having to do anything explicit, the government would gain ever more legal power over The People.

      • (Score: 2) by mhajicek on Friday June 23 2017, @09:30PM (1 child)

        by mhajicek (51) on Friday June 23 2017, @09:30PM (#530257)

        We need a "Whoosh" mod.

        --
        The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 24 2017, @05:28AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 24 2017, @05:28AM (#530471)

          Or... get over needing "whoosh" and actually do a better job of explaining your point.

          Up to you. Social progress begins when we get past such unhelpful comments.

  • (Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Friday June 23 2017, @09:21PM (1 child)

    by tangomargarine (667) on Friday June 23 2017, @09:21PM (#530252)

    So what you're saying is that the government ignores its own rules.

    MURICA

    --
    "Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 23 2017, @10:41PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 23 2017, @10:41PM (#530281)

      Somewhat fitting considering it's citizens ignore their own reality.

  • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Friday June 23 2017, @11:38PM

    by kaszz (4211) on Friday June 23 2017, @11:38PM (#530313) Journal

    And if you buy gold instead? no bank log..

    And that is just one option.