Digital Money

[indago]

Michell Abner Espinoza was charged with money laundering. Miami Beach Detective Ricardo Arias, working undercover, told Espinoza that he had used BitCoins in a transactional trade for "stolen Russian credit-card numbers". Arias told Espinoza that he wanted "$30,000 in bitcoins", and they arranged to meet for the transaction, where Espinoza was arrested.

Florida circuit-court judge Teresa Pooler ruled that BitCoin was not money, and, therefore, there was no money laundering that had occurred.

"The charges were dismissed."

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[indago]

It was noted, in the article: "Unlike money, bitcoin’s value fluctuates wildly. “With such volatility, they have a limited ability to act as a store of value, another important attribute of money.”"

The definition of money is "a medium of exchange, and a store of value". If it doesn't meet these criteria, it is not money. That is one of the main reasons gold and silver coin was inserted within the Constitution to be used as money. Certainly, the paper dollar could not be categorized as money, although it is. It meets the criteria of medium of exchange, but not as a store of value.