beer^H^H^H^Hregulation

14 Jan 2014

From this Wired piece on bitcoin derivatives:

What we need is a bitcoin market that operates on a much larger scale, one that’s approved by financial regulators.

…

“The derivatives, futures, options market is largely undeveloped,” Ehrsam says. “You might say the counter-party is risk is unacceptable.” Part of the concern is that existing services may run afoul of regulators, either in Europe or in the U.S.

What we need now is regulation, but it’s a problem because of the risk of regulation. Regulation: the cause of and the solution to all of life’s problems. (Disclaimer: I do not nor would I ever consider a successful derivatives market – whether regulated or not – a prerequisite for some cryptocurrency’s success.)