揭示比特币注定失败的真正原因

    这几个星期对于比特币的拥趸而言注定不大太平：先是全球最大的比特币交易平台Mt.Gox突然宣布破产；随后《新闻周刊》（Newsweek）又爆出，比特币的发明者是美国加州一位名为中本聪的64岁男子。

    不过，比起比特币的前景问题，上面这些新闻简直微不足道。比特币是否有希望像由政府担保的法定货币那样得到人们的广泛接纳？比特币成功的最大障碍一直在于取得政府的支持，然而许多比特币的拥趸却将政府视为仇敌。

    中国等国家对比特币持明确反对态度。去年12月，中国政府发布官方公告，禁止金融机构参与比特币交易，不过对个人用户仍然开放。虽然美国政府目前仍然维持不干涉的态度，但财政部（the Treasury Department），尤其还有国税局（IRS）早就对比特币虎视眈眈，迟早要插手，而这些大佬的态度会在很大程度上决定比特币的成败。

    税务律师李•谢帕德最近在一篇有关税收的文章中详细阐述了自己的观点：“比特币不是货币。”毫无疑问，他的观点遭到不少比特币支持者的反对。谢帕德的观点如下：

    比特币的使用者不应该认为自己能免除纳税义务，也不能以为自己可以游离于税务系统之外。比特币绝没有超脱世俗的能力，当前银行系统的禁区对比特币一样适用……自由论者、毒枭和阴谋论者喜欢比特币，因为它不由中央政府发行。但讽刺的是，比特币可比美钞更容易控制，也更容易追踪。

    谢帕德列举了美国税务法院（United States Tax Court）在上世纪70年代对Barter Systems公司逃税案的判决结果，这家公司当时允许客户将手中的“硬资产”变卖成自己发行的“交易单元”。当时美国正值高通胀时代，所以对这类交易单元的吸引力也就不难理解。美国税务法院裁决Barter Systems必须将有关交易单元的所有情况如实上报，同时“按照交易单元所兑换商品的市场公允价格进行纳税”。谢帕德还指出：

    比特币类似美国威奇托市Barter Systems公司力推的交易单位。后者是一种私下发行的交易媒介，应用场合十分有限，发行者不承担任何担保。科尔文法官在分析交易单元的使用情况时把它视为财产。同样的分析也适用于比特币。

    It's been a busy couple of weeks for bitcoin enthusiasts, first as they dealt with the volatility brought on by the implosion of the world's largest bitcoin exchange, then as Newsweek fingered a 64-year-old California man named Satoshi Nakamoto as the creator of the virtual currency.

    But compared to the question of whether bitcoin will ever achieve levels of adoption anywhere near the scale of government-backed fiat currencies, these stories are mere trifles. Bitcoin's biggest obstacle to success has always been receiving the blessing of the very governments that many of its supporters view as enemies one through 100.

    Some governments, like China, have taken steps to combat bitcoin's use. In December, Chinese officials banned financial institutions from dealing with bitcoin though individuals are free to own them. The United States has taken a more hands-off approach, but it is inevitable that the Treasury Department, and especially the IRS, will have to take an official stance on the currency, and its position will have huge implications for the success of bitcoin.

    Tax attorney Lee Shepard argues convincingly in a recent article in Tax Notes that "Bitcoin is not a currency," despite the protestations of some supporters. According to Shepard:

    Users of Bitcoin should not think that it is exempt from taxation or outside the tax system. There's nothing that Bitcoin allows anyone to do that they can't already do in the regular banking system ... Libertarians, drug dealers, and tinfoil hatters like Bitcoin because it is not issued by a central government, but the irony is that it is more controllable and more traceable than the U.S. bank notes ...

    Shepard points to a United States Tax Court decision from the 1970s that dealt with a company called Barter Systems, which allowed customers to trade in hard assets in return for "trade units" issued by the firm. This was during a time when inflation was high, which explains the appeal of these trade units. The U.S. tax court ruled that Barter Systems was required to report transactions involving these trade units and that the exchange "should be taxed on the fair market value of property received in exchange for trade units." Continues Shepard:

    Bitcoin is analogous to the trade units considered in Barter Systems Inc. of Wichita. It is a privately issued medium of exchange accepted only in constrained circumstances and not backed by any promise of the issuer. Colvin treated the trade units as property in analyzing their use. The same analysis applies to Bitcoin.