BITCOIN (BTC Findings)

Sir,

Here are my findings with regard to our client who is about to establish a Bitcoin
Corporation:

1. BTC traders must either be registered under the BSP or as a security under
the Securities Regulation Code.

 When is it required to register under the BSP?

Under the BSP Circular No. 944-2017, The Bangko Sentral does not intend
to endorse any VC, such as bitcoin, as a currency since it is neither issued
or guaranteed by a central bank nor backed by any commodity. Rather, the
BSP aims to regulate VCs when used for delivery of financial services,
particularly, for payments and remittances, which have material impact on
anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism
(CFT), consumer protection and financial stability.

If the purpose of the client is to serve as a middle-man between its

customers and the sellers of BTC, then they must be registered under the
BSP since the BSP now treats BTC as a foreign exchange.

BTC Exchange services are now registered with the Bangko Sentral ng
Pilipinas. Coins.ph, for example, is registered as a Foreign Exchange Dealer
(FXD), Money Changer (MC) & Remittance Agent (RA). Furthermore, other
businesses who want to engage in Bitcoin transfer needs to get registered
with the BSP. If not, no banks will deal with them.

 How to register in BSP?

Get the following forms from BSP:

Application for Registration and Notarized Deeds of Undertaking
(Appendices N-8-b-l and N-8-b-2) to the Bangko Sentral through the
appropriate department of the Supervision and Examination Sector (SES).

 When to register as securities?

" Section 3. Definition of Terms. - 3.1. "Securities" are shares, participation

or interests in a corporation or in a commercial enterprise or profit-making
venture and evidenced by a certificate, contract, instruments, whether
written or electronic in character. It includes: (a) Shares of stocks, bonds,
debentures, notes evidences of indebtedness, asset-backed securities; (b)
Investment contracts, certificates of interest or participation in a profit
sharing agreement, certifies of deposit for a future subscription;

The HOWEY TEST is the test established to determine whether a

transaction falls within the scope of an investment contract. It requires that
a person:
 1. Makes an investment of money;
2. In a common enterprise;
3. With the expectation of profits;
4. To be derived primarily from the efforts of others."

If the client decides to pursue the business of pooling money from the
public for the purpose of sharing profits upon the growth of BTC prices,
then it is considered as an investment contract and must be registered as a
security under the Securities Regulation Code.
 How to register as securities?

-Get form from Market and Securities Regulation Department of the

Securities Exchange Commission.
-Fill them out and submit to the SEC.

2. Here are the requirements of the client in order to establish a corporation:

 Reservation of Corporate Name

 Articles of Incorporation
 By-laws
 Treasurer’s Affidavit
 Affidavit of at least two incorporators undertaking that the
Corporation name shall be changed in case its confusingly similar
to an existing one.
 Certificate of Endorsement from the BSP (In case the nature of their
business is to serve as a middleman between the public and the
seller of BTC like Coins.ph)

The forms can be downloaded here: http://www.sec.gov.ph/forms-

and-fees/primary-registration/

3. Sir, I did not dwell too much on the how Bitcoin is mined because it is actually
too technical and it is for IT people.

Bitcoin (BTC) is a new crypto-currency discovered by Satoshi Nakamoto.

Basically sir, it is digital money. Put another way; cryptocurrency is an exchange
of digital information that allows you to buy or sell goods and services. There are
other crypto-currencies existing before Bitcoin such Etherium, Altcoin and
Dogecoins.

 How it works:
Since it is a crypto-currency, it can also be used to buy things in physical and online
stores. Same effect as that of a debit card. However, there are no establishments
yet in the Philippines that accept BTC as payment.

It is similar to stocks or investments in such a way that you can easily buy and sell
them through an intermediary for a safe transaction. One example is Coins.ph.. So
basically you buy BTC, wait for its price to rise then sell them for profit.

Unlike stocks, you don't get any certificate of stocks or any other paper trail. Your
only proof of ownership is your Bitcoin wallet. It is also not regulated by any other
government or any other financial intermediary which is why its price cannot be
manipulated and thus, its extreme volatility. Another difference of it from stocks
is that they are only very limited. Last I checked sir, there only 11 million bitcoins
left in the digital world (parang the Matrix) which is also another reason on why
BTC prices are rising and mining is getting harder.

 How to obtain Bitcoin?

First: You need to create a Bitcoin wallet. Easy to create, just go to google and type
bitcoin wallet. Once you choose your desired Bitcoin wallet, you will be prompted
to register. A bitcoin wallet sir is similar to a bank account but this one is digital in
nature which is why you will be given a number code and QR after creating one.

Second: You can now start buying and selling BTC. Again, it is the same as stocks
wherein you can but from another BTC then sell it if the price rises.

Another way to get Bitcon is to "mine" them through the use of your computer..
Think of it as the Digital World as the Gold Mine and your computer as the tools
you use for mining. So it means, the better the specs of your computer, the better
chances of 'mining" a block of BTC in the digital world. Once you already have
the hardware, you just need to find a program that can start mining. There are
many of these programs and are easily downloaded in the internet.

So this is the more expensive alternative of obtaining BTC as it requires a computer

with a high-end video card, high end motherboard, high end processor, high end
power supply and leaving it open for 24/7 to "mine".

 PROS:

Easy money because of high rate of return.

Not regulated by any government so nobody would dare question the amount of
BTC you have.

 CONS:

Extremely volatile.
No paper trail so once your BTC wallet gets hacked, say goodbye to your money.
Limited supply. Its bubble will explode once BTC runs out and its price will start
falling.

For the basics sir, you can read this

site: https://www.benzinga.com/general/education/17/12/10945338/bitcoin-
and-cryptocurrency-101-understanding-the-basics