Over the past few weeks and months, it hasn’t been uncommon to hear central banks and governments speak out against bitcoin. Today, an American state did just that.
The state of Hawaii, specifically the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs’ Division of Financial Institutions (DFI), has issued a warning related to bitcoin.
The DFI said any company transmitting bitcoins (and presumably other digital currencies) in the state is doing so unlawfully. This includes exchanges, wallet services, and mining operations.
In addition, the DFI warned consumers of potential losses in using bitcoin:
“If anyone has suffered any losses, the crypto-currency is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), and any recovery would have to be done through the company that either ‘mined’ or sold the crypto-currency to the consumer,” said commissioner Ikeda Catalani.
While the state hasn’t exactly thrown down the banhammer on the use of the digital currency, they have made it a bit more complex for any potential business startups that work around the currency.
Do you think more states will follow suit? [via KITV]
