Germany accepts Bitcoin as a currency

The virtual currency Bitcoin received an important boost this week when the German Finance Ministry announced that the product can be used as a “unit of account” or “private money”, allowing it to be used in commercial transactions.

The ruling does not mean that Bitcoin is recognised as legal tender, officials stressed, although transactions carried out in the virtual coin can be taxed. That has important capital gains tax (25 percent in Germany) because the tax falls away once the “unit of account” has been held for longer than a year.

Other nations have mixed attitudes toward Bitcoin, with Thailand deeming the virtual currency illegal, and the US making hostile moves that indicate it is unlikely to remain uninvolved in the Bitcoin saga.

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