Bitcoins

Introductie 9
Prof. mr. R.A. Wolf
Cryptocurrencies: exploring a revolutionary technology 12
Drs. J. Boersma

1. Distributed consensus technology as a new trust enabler 12
2. Market is at risk of deadlock 13
3. Cryptocurrencies are here to stay; we are only just seeing the beginning 13
4. The technology will be developed further 14
5. Any transaction service can benefit from cryptocurrency principles 15
6. Banks will get involved first hand, and will integrate cryptocurrency
principals into their own infrastructure 15
7. The right regulatory framework needs to be put together 16
8. Improved governance can enhance trust 16
9. Promises and threats 17
10. There is a need to educate in order to promote smart use 17
11. Conclusion: the technology is here to stay, but current services might go 18
12. For the industry to go forward, dialogue between players is essential 18
12.1. Entrepreneurs should keep going forward 18
12.2. Regulators should keep building expertise and experience 19
12.3. Financial services will be the bridge between worlds and systems 19
12.4. Need for organizations guiding the industry 19
13. Challenges for cryptocurrencies 20
13.1. Developing appropriate regulations 20
13.2. Bridging the gap between early adopters and mainstream users 21
13.3. Development of industry governance 21
13.4. The technology will survive breaches, current implementations might not 21
Bitcoins: civielrechtelijke en toezichtrechtelijke aspecten 26
Prof. mr. W.A.K. Rank
1. Inleiding 26
2. Bitcoins 27
3. Vonnis rechtbank Overijssel 28
4. Geld in juridische zin 29
5. Bitcoin; geld of ruilmiddel? 31
6. Civielrechtelijke aspecten 34
7. Toezichtrechtelijke aspecten 37
8. Conclusie 39
Virtuele valuta’s vanuit het perspectief van De Nederlandsche Bank 40
M.A. Plooij MA MSc
1. Voordelen en risico’s 40
2. Virtuele valuta’s en de huidige regelgeving 41
3. Virtuele valuta’s en regelgeving – een blik op de toekomst 42
4. De toekomst van virtuele valuta’s: nog veel onzekerheden 44
Virtuele valuta: (toezichtrechtelijke) stand van zaken 47
mr. J. Baukema
1. Inleiding 47
2. Virtuele (alternatieve) valuta 48
3. Incidenten 48
4. Toezichtrechtelijke ontwikkelingen 50
4.1. DNB en AFM 50
4.2. Toezichthouders EU lidstaten 52
4.3. Europese Bankenautoriteit 53
5. Afronding 55
Bitcoin, income tax and vat - current legislation & policy and an outlook on the future 57
M.L. Veldhuijzen LLM, R. van de Berg LLM, E.A. van Goor LLM
1. Introduction 57
2. What is bitcoin? 58
3. Primary question: is bitcoin ‘money’? 59
4. Definition of money 59
5. Payment network 60
6. ‘Money’ for EU law purposes 61
7. Current direct tax characterization of the use of bitcoin 61
8. Current VAT characterization of the use of bitcoin in Europe and the use thereof 63
9. Why the use of bitcoin should be exempt or out of scope for
VAT purposes 65
10. Why a harmonized approach is required 67
11. Conclusions 69
Bitcoins and EU VAT 70
Prof. mr. R.A. Wolf
1. An introduction to Bitcoin 70
2. Currencies, money and bitcoins 71
3. Money, payments and VAT 72
4. Paying with bitcoins 74
5. Accepting bitcoins as payment 75
6. Exchanging bitcoins for regular currencies 76
7. Creating bitcoins through mining 78
8. Conclusions 79

Bijlage 1: Uitspraak Rechtbank Overijssel; bitcoin geen geld, maar ruilmiddel 80