Bitcoin available with OKPay payment processor
So begins; weeks after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) disrupted fund transfers between Iowa-based online payment processor Dwolla and Tokyo-based online exchange Mt. Gox, OKPay decided to stop accepting the popular web currency Bitcoin . While OKPay's move has yet to make a public statement, it's clear that the companies don't want any problems with the Department of Justice (DoJ) or Homeland Security, and it seems like the organization is just taking precautions to keep you away from problems if they arise in the future. The move was announced on the company's website.
No Money Laundering
Of course, these questions surround the Department of Homeland Security’s monitoring of potential money laundering activity that may occur on these sites. As a result, OKPay issued the following statement regarding its decision to cease accepting Bitcoin: “[We want] to reduce the risks and potential dangers associated with anti-money laundering legislation.” All financial transactions involving exchangers and exchanges, i.e. those denominated in Bitcoin The transactions that are being made are now going to be in other words, DHS, please don't bother us, we don't want any problems.
Perhaps in retaliation, Mt. Gox, which had been using OKPay as a deposit channel for its customers, announced in a press release that it would cut ties with OKPay and no longer accept deposits from them.
Crackdown expands
In addition to the DHS asset freeze weeks ago, another financial firm, Liberty Reserve Bank, was recently shut down as a result of a joint money laundering investigation by U.S. and Costa Rican law enforcement agencies. As part of this operation, Liberty founder Arthur Budovsky Belanchuk was arrested in Spain.
While Liberty isn't a Bitcoin processor per se, it's clear that all of these companies are now looking at the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice, given their relatively new focus on alternatives to traditional U.S. dollars, euros and pounds. Bitcoin was created about a decade ago specifically as a payment method that could not be recognized and regulated by law enforcement, and although its popularity has grown, it is still far from a mainstream currency option. Given the Fed's new, heavy-handed surveillance tactics, it seems like it could be nipped in the bud.
In addition to attracting unwanted attention from authorities, Bitcoin processing has created several other problems for users and payment clearing operators; the company has been criticized for its relatively volatile exchange rates, inflexible products, and lack of access to transactions outside of gambling sites. Criticized for minimum stake.
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Source: www.casino.org
