(Newswire.net — May 10, 2014) —
The Winklevoss brothers of Facebook fame decided against all reason to list their Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust, on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
The concept is that the fund will buy one Bitcoin for every five shares. The Bitcoin would then be held in Math-Based Asset Services. It has not been decided on whether there will be a management fee or not.
This financially eye-brow raising announcement comes just days after a previous warning from the S.E.C which amounted to a stinging rebuke of the crypto currency.
“The fact that the S.E.C. has allowed the S-1 to progress this far is an indication that it may actually happen,” said Gil Luria, an analyst with Wedbush Securities who has studied Bitcoin, referring to the S.E.C. regulatory filing.
On a related note, the Federal Election Commission, unanimously voted to allow political committees to accept Bitcoin donations and outlined the ways that the virtual currency can be used by federally regulated campaigns.
This ruling does come with some strings attached in that Bitcoin donations will be capped at a cash equivalent of $100 per person per cycle, with the value determined at the time of the donation.
This opinion was based on a definition of Bitcoins as “money or anything of value” — in essence, cash or an in-kind contribution.
This definition appears to be in direct conflict with the IRS which defined bitcoin as “property and not currency”.
Ahh, government. Only time will tell which definition will win.
In the meantime, you can learn more about how Bitcoin investing can figure into your financial future here.
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