

Canada rules bitcoin is not legal tender - schiang
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101343464

======
dalke
Dear submitter, as the article states, it's a summary of a post from the Wall
Street Journal. The actual article is at
[http://blogs.wsj.com/canadarealtime/2014/01/16/canada-
says-b...](http://blogs.wsj.com/canadarealtime/2014/01/16/canada-says-bitcoin-
isnt-legal-tender/?KEYWORDS=bitcoin) . The link is even given at the bottom of
the page.

This reported statement, the Bitcoin isn't legal tender, has a very specific
meaning. It says that people are not required to accept Bitcoin as a form of
debt. This report should not be shocking or at all surprising.

While the details depend on the jurisdiction, "legal tender" is usually
defined as a medium of payment which is valid for discharging debt. Other
forms of payment, like checks and credit cards, are _not_ legal tender but
widely accepted. This being Canada, scrip like Canadian Tire money (see
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Tire_money](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Tire_money)
) is also not legal tender, even if people other than Canadian Tire accept it
a a form of payment.

For that matter, the US dollar is not legal tender in Canada, even if some
people and places in Canada (especially those at border tourist towns) will
accept it as a form of payment.

So, Bitcoin isn't legal tender in Canada? Big whoop. It isn't legal tender in
the US either. Or any other country.

~~~
taspeotis
B-b-b-but Bitcoin news?!

