Suchergebnisse

Criptocurrencies are popular convertible virtual currencies, as they use security mechanisms such as cryptography for creating units of the currency and controlling the transaction. Th e main property of criptocurrencies is that they provide anonymity for the transaction, as they work based on Blockchain technology. Bitcoin is one of the most important criptocurrencies on the market. Whereas we like it or not, it seems that Bitcoin has become a powerful payment instrument, but also a payment system. Th e national Governments face now a new challenge: the necessity of regulating Bitcoin. But Bitcoin is incompatible with any kind of centralized control. We can only imagine that eff ective regulations can exist only through worldwide cooperation: "Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are present and growing in major economies, supporting the call for increased global cooperation"21. Th is will be probably an expensive and complex process.

This paper reviews and contrasts the regulatory regime governing cryp-tocurrencies in Australia with those of the United States and European Union where the use of crypto-currencies in general and bitcoin in particular, is gaining momentum. This comparative analysis led the authors to conclude that the Australian regula-tory regimes are compara-ble, especially in relation to anti-money laundering activities. The finding cements the argument that it is timely to have a streamlined classification of bitcoin and/or cryp-tocurrencies across the jurisdictions, to provide the necessary guidance for all the stakeholders in the financial system.