Bitcoin now deemed ‘Money’ under Washington, D.C., Money Transmitters Act

In the case of United States v. Harmon, a federal court stated that Bitcoin is a form of ‘money’.
The crucial part of the case was to determine whether Bitcoin was ‘money’ or not for purposes of the District of Columbia’s MTA.

According to a recent report by BloombergLaw, Bitcoin is considered ‘money’ under the Washington, D.C., Money Transmitters Act.

Money “commonly means a medium of exchange, method of payment, or store of value,” Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell wrote for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. “Bitcoin is these things.”

This was in reference to a case where Larry Dean Harmon was charged with three counts related to the operation of Helix, a tumbler for Bitcoin. The service was used to exchange around $311 million in Bitcoin between 2014 and 2017.

In sum, Helix, as described in the indictment, satisfies the definition of “unlicensed money transmitting business” at § 1960(b)(1)(B) because Helix’s core business was receiving bitcoin and transmitting that bitcoin to another location or person. As a result, defendant’s remaining challenge to Count Two is unsuccessful, and Count Two will not be dismissed. Stated the document.

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