Investor Alert Bitcoin More than a Bit Risky
Post on: 4 Август, 2015 No Comment
Protect Yourself
Bitcoin: More than a Bit Risky
Bitcoin and other digital currencies have garnered considerable attention. Media reports have focused on virtual currency’s potential promise to businesses and consumersbut also on very real abuses and criminal activity associated with it. Government hearings have been held on virtual currencies. In 2013 the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged a Texas man and his company with fraud involving an alleged Bitcoin Ponzi scheme. More recently, on February 19, 2014, the SEC suspended trading in the securities of Imogo Mobile Technologies Corpwhich had announced testing of a new mobile platform for Bitcoin a few weeks earlierbecause of questions about the company’s business, revenue and assets. And on February 24, 2014, the Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, one of the largest bitcoin exchanges, stopped its operations. It subsequently filed for bankruptcy in Japan on February 27 th and in the U.S. on March 10 th .
FINRA is issuing this alert to caution investors that buying and using digital currency such as Bitcoin carry risks. Speculative trading in bitcoins carries significant risk. There is also the risk of fraud related to companies claiming to offer Bitcoin payment platforms and other Bitcoin-related products and services.
How Bitcoin Works
Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer payment system that uses its own currency, called bitcoin, to transact business. Bitcoins are not issued by banks or governmentsindeed the Bitcoin platform was designed to offer an alternative to national currencies like the dollar, and commodity-based currencies such as gold or silver coins.
Bitcoin was introduced in 2009 as open source software. Think of it as a sophisticated computer program that encrypts, verifies and records bitcoin transactions. While Bitcoin users are anonymous, a public record or block chain is public and shared between Bitcoin system users. Mathematical proofs are used to verify the authenticity of each transaction.
Bitcoins are created by a process called mining. Like mining for gold, the process is labor intensive. Mining serves two purposes. First, miners use software algorithms to add transaction records to Bitcoin’s public ledger of past transactions and verify legitimate bitcoin transactions. For their efforts, Bitcoin miners get transaction fees. In addition, if the miner finds a new block, the miner is awarded new bitcoins. A finite number of bitcoins can be mined (21 million based on the mathematics underlying Bitcoin mining).
Bitcoins can also be bought and sold online or at physical locations. A growing number of physical establishments and exchanges allow customers to buy and sell bitcoins using cash, credit cards, money orders and other methods. Bitcoins reside in a digital wallet, where they can be used to purchase items from establishments that accept bitcoins.
Bitcoins can be traded for traditional currency at exchange rates that fluctuate. Bitcoin prices have been extremely volatile, and subject to wide price swings. Recent IRS guidance notes that Bitcoin, as a virtual currency, is treated as property for U.S. federal tax purposes and subject to the same general tax principles.
Bitcoin Risks
Buying, selling and using bitcoins carry numerous risks:
- Digital currency such as Bitcoin is not legal tender. No law requires companies or individuals to accept bitcoins as a form of payment. Instead, Bitcoin use is limited to businesses and individuals that are willing to accept bitcoins. If no one accepts bitcoins, bitcoins will become worthless.
Bitcoin Speculation
Speculators have been drawn to bitcoin trading as a way to make a quick profit. But like any speculative investment, from real estate to gold, you can lose money. With digital currency, profits or losses are virtually impossible to predict.
Bitcoin prices have fluctuated widely, and wildly, almost from the currency’s inception for a host of reasons. For example, bitcoin prices plummeted following the Mt. Gox incidentand earlier when the Chinese central bank banned banks from accepting bitcoins. Other factors that affect digital currency prices include supply and demand, rumors and even where bitcoins are traded (since prices are far from uniform from one bitcoin exchange to the next). In short, bitcoin speculation is extremely risky. Never speculate with money you cannot afford to lose.
Bitcoin-Related Scams
When the SEC first brought the Texas case involving bitcoins, it issued a warning about the potential for fraud. As with so many other hot or new trends, fraudsters may see the latest digital currency trend as a chance to steal your money through old-fashioned fraud.
Warning signs of fraud include business claims that are not backed by financial reality. For example, newsletters or press releases might claim a company has a viable product or service, but the company’s own filings with the SEC show low revenues and describe the company as a development stage entity. For more information on identifying potential stock frauds in any emerging industry, read Avoiding Investment Scams .
If a Problem Occurs
If you believe you’ve been defrauded or treated unfairly by a securities professional or firm, file a complaint. If you suspect that someone you know has been taken in by a scam, send a tip .