Policies/Distributed Digital Currencies and Economies

Preamble
Distributed digital currencies such as Bitcoin (also referred to as cryptocurrencies) are an emerging and potentially highly disruptive technology, and are the subject of numerous official inquiries around the world. Existing payment methods carry significant risks - such as the need for consumers to share credit card details - and also impose dead-weight middle-men costs. Digital currencies offer a solution to these issues and a potential diversity of new financial services.

Digital currencies allow the population of a country to avoid potential currency devaluation as a result of fiscal and monetary policy. Consumers will also benefit through a reduction of risk in their online purchases and lower transaction fees as middle-men are removed. Digital currencies also offer much to retail businesses. Existing payment systems are structurally unsuited to online transactions: paying online with a credit/debit card involves divulging card details to a slew of interested parties, with all costs associated with poor practices or fraud falling on the retailers, and ultimately on consumers. Organisations which directly wear the costs of poor security (the vendors) are also not the organisations with the power to increase the security of the system (the banks and payment services). Distributed digital currencies correct this issue inherently and are structurally more secure. They eliminate the need to divulge account details and ensure vendors have access to incoming funds immediately with no risk of fraud.

Pirate Party Australia anticipates a large future for the general distributed currency concept, but to be successful Australia needs to actively engage in its development. Pressure from incumbent financial organisations seeking to restrict competition must be resisted, as self-exclusion will deny Australia potentially enormous benefits.

Policy Text

 * Support the development of new technology businesses.
 * Ensure clear guidelines and a suitable regulatory environment are available for businesses.
 * Treat restriction of basic banking services to crypto-currencies businesses as an illegal restriction on trade, excepting where trade poses direct financial risks to the bank.
 * Ensure crypto-currency businesses with control over customer funds are subject to equivalent regulation to banks.
 * Ensure crypto-currency businesses without control over customer funds are not subject to traditional banking regulations, but are encouraged to self regulate.
 * Change tax regulation to support distributed currencies in the broader community.
 * Re-define digital currencies from a commodity to a currency for tax purposes.
 * Count digital currency gains through 'mining' or speculation efforts as capital gains.