虚拟货币到底是什么？钱？商品？证券？实用程序令牌？还是别的什么？几乎没有几个国家政府在这一问题上达成任何协议, 至少在目前, 他们的分歧已经在对待比特币和以太坊这样的货币上显示出了不确定性。
What is a virtual currency? Money? Goods? Securities? Practical procedures? or something? Few governments have reached any agreement on this, at least for the time being, and their differences have shown uncertainty in the treatment of a currency like Bitcoin and Etheria.
因此, 虚拟货币缺乏一个单一的, 明确的地位, 一些国家把他们当作钱 (例如, 日本, 德国) ，而有些国家把他们当作一个不受管制的投机资产 (例如墨西哥, 丹麦)。然而, 随着对世界各地加密货币的审查将显示,加密货币可以包含所有这些属性，甚至更多, 这就是为什么他们应该根据自己 独特的素质, 拥有未来的法律类别。
So the virtual currency lacks a single, clear position, and some countries treat them as money (e.g., Japan, Germany), while others treat them as an unregulated speculative asset (e.g., Mexico, Denmark). However, as a review of encrypted currencies around the world shows that encrypted currencies can contain all of these attributes and even more, that's why they should have a future legal class based on their unique qualities.
美国: 证券、大宗商品、房地产、货币。
United States: Securities, bulk commodities, real estate, currency.
世界各国政府在虚拟货币地位问题上达成全球共识非常困难, 国家间还没有达成共识。在美国，这一问题尤其突出，美国有五个独立的机构都有自己的对于虚拟货币的分类.
It is very difficult for governments around the world to reach a global consensus on virtual monetary status, and there is no consensus among countries. In the United States, the problem is particularly acute, with five independent institutions in the United States having their own classification of virtual currency.
首先是证券交易委员会 (SEC), 直到六月份，他们都把虚拟货币定义为债券。? 这意味着有人投资期望得到回报。例如, 3月, 它发布了一份公开声明, 表明它将通过交换平台作为一种担保来规范任何交易。
The first is the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which until June defined virtual currency as a bond. This means that some people expect a return on their investment. In March, for example, it issued a public statement that it would regulate any transaction through an exchange platform as a guarantee.
"许多这些平台为符合美国证券法关于“债券”的交易资产提供了一种机制。如果一个平台提供的是证券的数字资产交易, 并以 "交易" 的方式运作, 按照美国证券法的定义, 则该平台必须在 SEC 注册为国家证券交易所或免除注册。
"Many of these platforms provide a mechanism for trading assets consistent with US securities law with respect to “bonds." If a platform provides a digital asset transaction of securities and operates as a “transaction,” as defined in US securities law, the platform must be registered with the SEC as a national stock exchange or exempted from registration.
在这一消息公布后，比特币下跌了10%，但其他美国当局和机构的声明与美国证交会有关加密货币是有价证券的断言不同。同样是在今年3月，纽约的一名联邦法官裁定，商品期货交易委员会(CFTC)可以将比特币和其他货币作为大宗商品进行监管，使它们与黄金、石油和咖啡处于同一水平。
After this announcement, bitcoin fell by 10%, but statements by other US authorities and agencies differ from the SEC’s assertion that encrypted currency is a security. Similarly, in March this year, a federal judge in New York ruled that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) could regulate bitcoin and other currencies as bulk commodities, putting them at the same level as gold, oil, and coffee.
如果这还不够让人迷惑的话，美国国税局(IRS)自2014年3月起就将货币定义为应税财产，当时它宣布:
If this is not confusing enough, the United States IRS has defined the currency as taxable property since March 2014, when it declared that:
“就联邦税收而言，虚拟货币被视为财产。”
“In the case of federal taxes, virtual currency is considered property.”
观察家们认为有三个独立的定义就足够了，而另外两个机构则把货币当作货币来使用也情有可原。美国外国资产控制办公室(U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control, OFAC)是美国财政部负责实施经济制裁的部门，包括对某些加密货币(如Petro)的制裁。今年4月，政府宣布，将以与法定货币相同的方式对待“虚拟货币”，这使得任何处理了经济制裁范围内的加密货币的个人都要承担起诉责任。
The United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control, OFAC) is the United States Treasury Department responsible for imposing economic sanctions, including sanctions on certain encrypted currencies, such as Petro. In April this year, the government announced that it would treat “virtual currencies” in the same way as statutory currencies, making any person dealing with encrypted currencies under economic sanctions liable for prosecution.
同样地，金融犯罪执法网络(FinCEN)负责调查非法使用金钱，包括洗钱和资助恐怖主义。它在2013年3月更新了规则，涵盖了所有“创建、获取、分发、交换、接受或传输虚拟货币的人”，这些人要求交易所(归类为“货币传递者”)实施“了解客户”(KYC)和“反洗钱”(AMC)措施。通过扩大监管，它将加密货币置于货币的概念之下，而其他政府机构则将其归类为商品、安全或财产。
Similarly, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) investigates the illicit use of money, including money-laundering and the financing of terrorism. It updated its rules in March 2013 to cover all “persons who create, acquire, distribute, exchange, receive or transmit virtual money”, who require the exchange (characterized as “money couriers”) to implement “know your customer” (KYC) and “anti-money-laundering” (AMC) measures. By extending regulation, it places encrypted currency under the concept of currency, while other government agencies classify it as goods, security or property.
当然，这类分类并不相互排斥，但它们为那些希望理解使用加密货币的合法立场的个人和企业带来了混乱和复杂性。幸运的是，越来越多的迹象表明，上述一些机构开始在共享定义上趋于一致。
Of course, such classifications are not mutually exclusive, but they create confusion and complexity for individuals and businesses who wish to understand the legitimate position of using encrypted currencies. Fortunately, there are growing signs that some of these institutions are beginning to converge on shared definitions.
然而，它们给那些希望理解加密货币合法地位的个人和企业带来了困惑和复杂性。
However, they create confusion and complexity among individuals and businesses who wish to understand the legitimacy of encrypted money.
今年6月，美国证交会最终澄清，它不认为比特币或以太公司(Ethereum)是有价证券，而是将重点放在首次发行(ipo)上。按市值计算，这两种货币是最大的两种货币。一个月前，CFTC委员贝南(Rostin Behnam)发表讲话，强调该委员会与SEC之间的合作日益密切。
In June this year, the SEC finally clarified that it did not consider Bitcoin or Etheeum as securities, but rather focused on first-time issuances (ipos). In terms of market value, these two currencies are the two largest. A month ago, the CFTC member, Rostin Behnam, made a statement stressing the increasing cooperation between the Commission and the SEC.
“我谈到了我在CFTC和SEC协调规则方面的立场。鉴于大量的双重注册市场参与者和重叠的政策，CFTC和SEC有一个真正的机会来协调冗余规则，让市场参与者和监管机构处于更有利的地位。
“I spoke of my position on the CFTC and SEC harmonization rules. Given the large number of dual-registration market participants and overlapping policies, the CFTC and SEC have a real opportunity to harmonize redundant rules and put market participants and regulators in a better position.
这些措施都是温和的、初步的，但鉴于美国证交会不再将比特币和以太会等货币视为证券，它们至少缩小了美国加密货币的范围。尽管如此，他们仍然不是法定货币，尽管这并没有阻止成千上万的美国人以比特币和其他货币为支付手段。
These measures are modest and preliminary, but, given that the SEC no longer treats the currencies of Bitcoin and Ether as securities, they at least narrow down the scope of the US encoded currency. Nevertheless, they are still not legal currencies, although this does not prevent thousands of Americans from using bitcoins and other currencies as a means of payment.
加拿大、墨西哥和南美:商品、虚拟资产、法定货币。
Canada, Mexico and South America: commodities, virtual assets, legal tender.
像美国，加拿大并不认为加密货币是法定货币。然而，它对虚拟货币的处理方法稍微统一一些，加拿大税收局(CRA)目前将它们定义为商品——这一定义似乎在大多数政府机构中都适用。这就是为什么涉及加密货币的购买行为受到CRA的监管，就好像它们是易货交易一样，适用于相关的税务。不过，2014年6月通过的一项议会法案也将加密货币定义为“货币服务业务”，目的是更新反洗钱法律，而加拿大证券管理机构(CSA)在2017年8月宣布，“许多“ICOs”涉及证券销售。
Canada, like the United States, does not consider encrypted currency to be a legal currency. However, it has a somewhat uniform approach to the treatment of virtual currency, which the Canadian Revenue Service (CRA) currently defines as goods – a definition that seems to apply in most government agencies. That is why purchases involving encrypted money are regulated by the CRA, as if they were barter transactions, and applied to related taxes.
在墨西哥，加密货币也被视为大宗商品。3月1日，政府通过了监管金融科技公司的法律，其中包括“虚拟资产”一词，即加密货币。与之前对证券、大宗商品、财产和货币的定义相比，这是一个公认的模糊术语，而3月份的法律规定目前并没有缩小适用范围(因为法律实际上还在等待第二轮立法)。然而，墨西哥有关领导人此前的言论表明，政府倾向于将比特币转化为“大宗商品”，墨西哥银行(Banco de Mexico)行长奥古斯丁?卡斯滕斯(Agustin Carstens)在2017年8月表示，由于比特币不受央行监管，因此它是一种大宗商品，而非一种货币。
In Mexico, encrypted currency is also considered a commodity. On March 1, the government adopted a law regulating financial technology companies, including the term “virtual assets”, i.e., encrypted currency. This is a widely accepted vague term compared to the previous definition of securities, bulk commodities, property and currency, and the March law does not currently narrow the scope of application (since the law is actually awaiting a second round of legislation). However, previous statements by Mexican leaders indicate that the government tends to convert bitco into a “big commodity” and that the Governor of the Bank of Mexico (Banco de Mexico) Augustine Carstens stated in August 2017 that, since Bitco is not under central bank supervision, it is a bulk commodity rather than a currency.
再往南走，情况就复杂了。在委内瑞拉在今年4月颁布法令，规定加密货币必须成为涉及政府部门的所有金融交易的法定货币。然而，尽管所有其他加密货币都立即被划归为金融资产和证券，但没有一种货币被宣布为法定货币。更让人困惑的是，委内瑞拉议会在任何机会都反对石油贸易。今年3月，甚至宣布，这种有政府背景的货币实际上是非法的，因为它是在没有国会批准和委内瑞拉央行参与的情况下创建的。
In April this year, Venezuela issued a decree stipulating that encrypted currencies must become the legal currency for all financial transactions involving government departments. However, although all other encrypted currencies are immediately classified as financial assets and securities, none of them has been declared a legal currency.
虽然这种或那种类型的分类通常适用于上述的拉美国家，但其他国家的货币却不合法。在巴西，证券交易委员会(CVM)今年1月宣布，加密货币在法律上不能被归类为金融资产，尽管巴西税收办公室此前曾在2017年规定，出于税收目的，加密货币应被视为金融资产。
Although this or that type of classification usually applies to the above-mentioned Latin American countries, the currencies of other countries are not legal. In Brazil, the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) announced in January this year that encrypted currencies could not legally be classified as financial assets, even though the Brazilian Revenue Office had previously stipulated in 2017 that encrypted currencies should be considered financial assets for tax purposes.
在智利，加密货币既不是证券，也不是货币，尽管央行最近开始考虑具体的监管。
In Chile, encrypted currencies are neither securities nor currencies, although central banks have recently begun to consider specific regulations.
在哥伦比亚，金融监管机构还宣布，数字货币不算作货币或证券，而出于税收目的，它可以被视为一种“高风险投资”。这让它比厄瓜多尔更容易接受。
In Colombia, the financial regulator also declared that the digital currency was not a currency or securities, but that it could be considered a “high-risk investment” for tax purposes, which made it more acceptable than Ecuador.
在厄瓜多尔，加密货币不仅不是法定货币，而且作为支付手段也被禁止。
In Ecuador, encrypted currency is not only not a legal currency but is also prohibited as a means of payment.
虽然南美国家对加密货币通常持限制性立场，但该大陆的一些国家则稍微接受一些。在阿根廷，加密货币不是法定货币，也没有专门针对它们的监管规定。也就是说，根据国家民法典的条款，它们被视为商品，而12月的税收法规更新将它们归类为股票和证券的收入。
In Argentina, encrypted currencies are not legal currency, nor are they regulated specifically. That is, they are considered commodities under the terms of the National Civil Code, and the December tax regulations update classifies them as shares and securities.
这些变化表明，当涉及到加密货币的分类时，有关国家的经济和政治状况会产生影响。加密货币的内在抽象性使它们在功能上具有适应性，因此它们的特殊分类和使用都取决于特定国家中普遍存在的政治和经济条件，以及这个国家想要使用它们的原因。这就是为什么在国家货币和经济相对疲软或自由受到限制的国家，加密货币往往被剥夺法律地位。
These changes suggest that the economic and political situation of the country in question has an impact when it comes to classification of encrypted currencies. The intrinsic abstraction of encrypted currencies makes them functionally adaptable, so that their special classification and use depends on the political and economic conditions prevailing in a given country and the reasons why that country wants to use them.
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