Ross Ulbricht, the man accused of being the operator of the original Silk Road, just demonstrated how effective he is at trolling. Facing charges of money laundering Mr. Ulbricht is now using the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) ruling that Bitcoin is property and not currency against them:
The IRS recently ruled that Bitcoin is property, not a “monetary instrument.” And now the attorney for alleged Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht is arguing that his client must be innocent of money laundering because Bitcoin officially isn’t money, reports Wired.
I think that’s a very good defense. How can one launder money using Bitcoin, which has been ruled by the IRS as not being money? That question was hypothetical because we all know that the state doesn’t actually have to follow its own laws when prosecuting people. I’m sure the state will perform the mental gymnastics necessary to continue this case.