What Is Charlie Shrem's Code Of Ethics

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According to Meet the Bitcoin Millionaires, Raskin 2013, Charlie Shrem was born on November 25, 1989 in Brooklyn, NY. As a senior in college he became interested in a then brand new currency called Bitcoin. He began investing. That same year, 2011, him and a friend (Gareth Nelson) created BitInstant, a company that easily converted standard currency to Bitcoin. This is where things went downhill. A 26-year old Bitcoin entrepreneur was handed prison time, and the experience only confirmed his belief in the cryptocurrency (Business Insider 2016) states that Shrem was appointed Chief Compliance Officer of BitInstant (now a 30 person company), and saw a need. He joined with Robert Faiella, a bitcoin exchanger, to launder drug money for customers

Government deemed worthy of punishment. This fact makes the issue instantly a battle of morals, where more than one workable ethical theories were bound to appear. So, I am glad I get the opportunity to look at this from a different angle. Charlie Shrem chose to ignore, or enable, the laundering of drug money through his company. Yet, when interviewed post jail time, he said that he felt remorse. Let's talk about the remorse. Shrem fell victim to Rule Utilitarianism, which is the claim that “individuals and groups choose to follow the rules because it produces the greatest good”, according to Act and Rule Utilitarianism, Celeste Friend. “The rules” being defined as “a set of rules, which when followed, lead to the greatest increase in total happiness” (Friend). While Shrem may have been abiding by his own code of ethics, or rule utilitarianism, when he began this illegal venture with his cohort, I think it changed. Based on Shrem saying that he felt remorse for what he did, I venture to assume that Shrems rule utilitarianism morphed as he matured, and he was soon caught in a predicament. He could cancel this “deal” and face the repercussions of the man he partnered with, plus losing a substantial income, or he could cover himself by moving to be the Chief Compliance Officer of the company and keeping quiet. He chose the easy and financially sound option. Which does not align with my

Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, are becoming increasingly popular, and consequently are being used for an increasing number of things. Most usages are legit, but some are not. The notion of a completely untraceable currency that is governed by no-one does attract a certain type. This situation proved such a sad fact. Shrem started with a passion to do something good, make Bitcoin more accessible for everyone, but was swayed by the simplicity of an “untraceable” transaction. This, and the many other cases similar to it, have driven lawmakers to begin creating legislation surrounding cryptocurrencies. Japan and Korea, to name a few, already have complete governing laws detailing the usage of such a currency. Other less adaptive countries, such as the United States, have yet to create laws. The U.S. finally, just this year, released the first report on cryptocurrencies. It was announced in July that “ the SEC issued the results of an investigative report into the details surrounding a cryptocurrency initial coin offering (ICO) called the “DAO” in the first half of 2016”, according to The SEC is finally starting to regulate Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Business Insider 2017. So, Bitcoin does not need steered in a better direction, it just needs to be steered. As the government slowly works on legislating Bitcoin, Bitcoin and others like it will continue to