New technologies are driving transformational changes in the global financial system. Virtual currencies (VCs) and the underlying distributed ledger systems are among these. VCs offer many potential benefits, but also considerable risks. VCs could raise efficiency and in the long run strengthen financial inclusion. At the same time, VCs could be potential vehicles for money laundering, terrorist financing, tax evasion and fraud. While risks to the conduct of monetary policy seem less likely to arise at this stage given the very small scale of VCs, risks to financial stability may eventually emerge as the new technologies become more widely used. National authorities have begun to address these challenges and will need to calibrate regulation in a manner that appropriately addresses the risks without stifling innovation. As experience is gained, international standards and best practices could be considered to provide guidance on the most appropriate regulatory responses in different fields, thereby promoting harmonization and cooperation across jurisdictions.

Incorporating currencies, payment methods, and protocols that computers use to talk to each other, digital currencies are poised to grow in use and importance. The Handbook of Digital Currency gives readers a way to learn about subjects outside their specialties and provides authoritative background and tools for those whose primary source of information is journal articles. Taking a cross-country perspective, its comprehensive view of the field includes history, technicality, IT, finance, economics, legal, tax and regulatory environment. For those who come from different backgrounds with different questions in mind, The Handbook of Digital Currency is an essential starting point. Discusses all major strategies and tactics associated with digital currencies, their uses, and their regulations Presents future scenarios for the growth of digital currencies Written for regulators, crime prevention units, tax authorities, entrepreneurs, micro-financiers, micro-payment businesses, cryptography experts, software developers, venture capitalists, hedge fund managers, hardware manufacturers, credit card providers, money changers, remittance service providers, exchanges, and academics Winner of the 2015 "Outstanding Business Reference Source" by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA)

The emergence of convertible decentralized virtual currency schemes confronts tax authorities with unprecedented questions, among them are the status of virtual currency for tax purposes, which virtual transactions may bene?t from a VAT exemption and determining the most optimal method of tax regulation. This ?rst book-length treatment of this major current topic provides an in-depth and comprehensive analysis of the tax implications of virtual currency transactions. Seeking to ascertain whether virtual currency requires additional regulation or whether the law as it stands is adequate to administer its usage, the analysis not only thoroughly explains the nature of the underlying blockchain technology and its regulatory and judicial treatment so far but also identi?es best practices for virtual currency transactions and makes recommendations for the improvement of the existing tax systems. Among the aspects of the phenomenon covered are the following: – particular aspects of virtual currency use such as smart contracts and initial coin offerings; – comparative review of income tax consequences of virtual currency transactions in Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States; – VAT/sales tax treatment of transactions involving virtual currency in the European Union and the United States; – methodology for creating an effective regulatory framework for the taxation of virtual currency; and – the future of blockchain. The book has three parts and an annex that describes tax regulations, administrative rulings and court decisions concerning virtual currency in twenty countries. In its in-depth analysis of tax implications of virtual currency transactions in major economies, detailed overview of recent tax developments that affect virtual currency transactions and evaluation of tax policies related to virtual currencies, this book has no peers. Especially in view of the OECD's examination of the tax challenges presented by the digital economy as part of its base erosion and pro?t shifting (BEPS) project, this clear and comprehensive explanation of the functioning of virtual currency and blockchain technology will be welcomed by tax administration of?cials and by persons mining and transacting in virtual currencies needing to know their compliance obligations.

A cutting-edge look at how accelerating financial change, from the end of cash to the rise of cryptocurrencies, will transform economies for better and worse. We think weÕve seen financial innovation. We bank from laptops and buy coffee with the wave of a phone. But these are minor miracles compared with the dizzying experiments now underway around the globe, as businesses and governments alike embrace the possibilities of new financial technologies. As Eswar Prasad explains, the world of finance is at the threshold of major disruption that will affect corporations, bankers, states, and indeed all of us. The transformation of money will fundamentally rewrite how ordinary people live. Above all, Prasad foresees the end of physical cash. The driving force wonÕt be phones or credit cards but rather central banks, spurred by the emergence of cryptocurrencies to develop their own, more stable digital currencies. Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies themselves will evolve unpredictably as global corporations like Facebook and Amazon join the game. The changes will be accompanied by snowballing innovations that are reshaping finance and have already begun to revolutionize how we invest, trade, insure, and manage risk. Prasad shows how these and other changes will redefine the very concept of money, unbundling its traditional functions as a unit of account, medium of exchange, and store of value. The promise lies in greater efficiency and flexibility, increased sensitivity to the needs of diverse consumers, and improved market access for the unbanked. The risk is instability, lack of accountability, and erosion of privacy. A lucid, visionary work, The Future of Money shows how to maximize the best and guard against the worst of what is to come.

Edward Castronova, the premier expert in the field, offers a fascinating look at unregulated virtual currencies from ThankYou Points to Bitcoin, exploring their legal and political ramifications and how they will change the global economy forever.

This book presents detailed case studies of the first commercial internet digital currency systems developed between 1996 and 2004. Transactions completed with the new technology circumvented all US financial regulations, an opening that transnational criminals exploited. Mullan explains how an entire industry of companies, agents, and participants turned a blind eye to crimes being committed in this unsupervised environment. He then tracks the subsequent changes made to US regulations that now prevent such unlicensed activity, illustrating the importance of supervising products and industries that arise from new disruptive technology. This book distills hundreds of hours of interviews with the creators and operators of early digital currency businesses to create detailed case studies of their practices.

New technologies are driving transformational changes in the global financial system. Virtual currencies (VCs) and the underlying distributed ledger systems are among these. VCs offer many potential benefits, but also considerable risks. VCs could raise efficiency and in the long run strengthen financial inclusion. At the same time, VCs could be potential vehicles for money laundering, terrorist financing, tax evasion and fraud. While risks to the conduct of monetary policy seem less likely to arise at this stage given the very small scale of VCs, risks to financial stability may eventually emerge as the new technologies become more widely used. National authorities have begun to address these challenges and will need to calibrate regulation in a manner that appropriately addresses the risks without stifling innovation. As experience is gained, international standards and best practices could be considered to provide guidance on the most appropriate regulatory responses in different fields, thereby promoting harmonization and cooperation across jurisdictions.