btc.ee - Blog

BTC.ee Ancient source of Bitcoins in Tallinn, Estonia.

Home
Legal
Press
Blog
Conversations

Blog

Most of my personal undiplomatic commentary on the case can be found on my Facebook page and some of it in other places.

2022-01-04 Estonia and crypto tweetstorm.
2022-01-01 Estonia shows its duplicit nature again. Wants to ban DeFi.
2021-10-13 Estonia wants to scam crypto enterpreneurs again.
2021-08-31 Estonia couldn't afford to spend 10 bucks for the .org version of their main e-propaganda site.
2021-08-31 Estonian FIU fails yet again to investigate the well connected
2021-05-06 Found a review of my case in the Baltic Journal of Law & Politics
2020-06-04 Estonian FIU is at it again
2019-09-03 While Estonia tried to impose an interpretation of the law they had held secret, in the Netherlands things are announced well before hand
2019-02-03 Estonian authorities show their real, anti-crypto, face again!
2018-09-20 Estonian FIU did not notice 200 Billion Euros being laundered under their noses
2018-05-31 While FIU was harrassing crypto enthusiast Estonia was a giant money laundering service for criminals
2017-05-10 Bitcoin donations converted to cover legal expenses
2017-03-10 The Estonian propaganda machine is at it again
2017-02-13 Crypt070#05 Otto de Voogd about Estonia [YouTube]
2017-02-13 Estonia vs Bitcoin (video of my talk in The Hague)
2016-09-29 Reply to Estonian FIU regarding Ethereum
2016-09-29 Estonian FIU refuses to clarify classification on Ethereum
2016-09-14 Estonia vs Bitcoin saga: Requesting EC Start Infringement Proceedings Against Estonia
2016-04-22 Good news! Estonian Financial "Intelligence" Unit stops investigation against me.
2016-04-15 My loss is a Pyrrhic victory for the Estonian state
2016-04-15 Precept answered by invoking my rights
2016-04-14 Secret interpretation and classification of Bitcoin
2016-04-14 Estonian state logic explained
2016-04-12 The state always wins.
2016-04-12 Estonia now officially worst country in EU for Bitcoin, blockchain tokens and assets [Reddit]
2016-04-11 Estonia now officially worst country in the EU for Bitcoin or Blockchain business.
2016-04-11 Supreme Court decided to apply strict regulation to Bitcoin trading that does not apply to other economic activities.
2016-04-11 Supreme Court simply ignores police threats.
2016-04-11 Point 1 of Supreme Court ruling provably a lie.
2016-04-11 Breaking: No justice in Estonia, no constitutional protection.
2016-03-20 Venezuelan authorities, follows the same "logic" as Estonian authorities.
2016-03-03 A cashless society means giving the government a kill switch on your life.
2016-03-03 I've written more than 200 Facebook posts about my Bitcoin case in Estonia.
2016-03-01 A note for the media: I am not a businessman.
2016-02-15 Estonian hostility towards Bitcoin now more than 2 years old.
2016-02-13 CoinEra.eu shows the difference between the Netherlands and Estonia.
2016-02-12 On Arnold Tenusaar's disingenuous statement to the press.
2016-02-12 Estonian Supreme court, country's last chance to show it's not rotten to the core.
2016-02-11 State lawyer's misleading statements.
2016-02-11 Supreme Ruling announced for April 6th. What can happen.
2016-02-10 Little update on Me vs Estonia. First oral hearing at Supreme Court since 6 years.
2016-02-03 Estonian president mentions blockchain technology in European Parliament.
2016-01-25 LHV just hired the man who led the Estonian state's anti-Bitcoin policies.
2016-01-21 British Embassy in Tallinn peddles Estonian propaganda.
2016-01-19 Rant: Estonia state acts like a monolith.
2016-01-18 Finally received all the opinions of Estonian Institutions on Bitcoin's legal status.
2016-01-04 Lithuania is the best country in the Baltics for Bitcoin and fintech startups.
2015-12-17 Lithuania now beats Estonia as the best country for business in the Baltics, according to Forbes.
2015-12-15 I estimate that Estonia's anti-Bitcoin policies are costing the state 1.2 million Euros in lost taxes per year.
2015-11-29 The Estonian Supreme Court made a preliminary decision in my Bitcoin case.
2015-11-28 In Estonia we believe that people should be able to freely choose their digital/public services best fit to them... except Bitcoin of course.
2015-11-19 UK Treasury: Digital Currencies Pose Lowest Money Laundering Risk. Contrary to what Estonia says.
2015-10-28 The Estonian Supreme Court has decided to take my appeal into consideration.
2015-10-27 Interview with Priit Lätt, who is also my lawyer, on the situation of Bitcoin in Estonia.
2015-10-27 Freedom of the press just took a big hit in Estonia.
2015-10-27 The Bitcoin VAT case exposes the hypocrisy of the Estonian state even more.
2015-10-26 This would be even worse than in Estonia.
2015-10-24 Estonian ministry of finance disingenious statement regarding the ECJ VAT case.
2015-10-23 In its filing the Estonian police misleads the Supreme Court.
2015-10-22 Estonia's failed intervention at the ECJ to export its regressive anti-Bitcoin policies to the whole EU.
2015-10-12 The cost of my mistaken belief that Estonia was a country that welcomed disruptive technological innovation, and my misplaced enthusiasm to help make Estonia a tech innovation hub.
2015-10-09 Fixed that for you Estonia! Transferwise vs Bitcoin.
2015-09-22 Euros are being used to bribe politicians in Estonia!
2015-08-20 E-mail conversation with Veronika Mets of the Estonian Ministry of Finance, chief apologist of Estonia's failed anti-Bitcoin policies.
2015-08-20 Some flaws in Aivar Paul's logic that undermines two of their favorite talking points.
2015-08-20 Aivar Paul, boss of the Estonian Financial Intelligence Unit, tries hard to avoid answering my questions.
2015-08-19 Full e-mail conversation I had in February 2014 with Urmas Pai of the Estonian Financial "Intelligence" unit.
2015-07-27 I had nearly forgotten that there are also some nice and helpful people working for the Estonian state.
2015-07-21 Yesterday my lawyer filed the appeal to the Estonian Supreme Court in my Bitcoin case.
2015-07-21 Estonian FIU lawyer's claims in court contradict warrant.
2015-07-16 "European Court of Justice Official Proposes Bitcoin VAT Exemption"
2015-07-04 ECHR rulings finding human rights violations per million inhabitants.
2015-07-03 Estonia is found guilty by the ECHR of human rights violations 13 times more often than the Netherlands.
2015-07-03 Another sentence in the Estonian constitution that certainly has decorative value.
2015-07-03 I believe Estonia is violating my human rights, here's why.
2015-07-02 Estonians can't do everything online mr. President.
2015-06-28 This is an actual sentence in the Estonian constitution. Don't make me laugh!
2015-06-27 "Thank you very much, also for your tips. We'll not be setting up the company in Estonia"
2015-06-23 While the Soviet bureaucrats in Estonia showed us how regulation should not be done, here come the Canadians to show us how it should.
2015-06-21 I think there is quite a fair chance that the ECHR could rule that Estonia is violating my human rights.
2015-06-19 Rain Lõhmus: "Unfortunately, Estonia is not particularly a Bitcoin-friendly country at the moment."
2015-06-19 Here's an another little gem of Soviet style logic in the court ruling.
2015-06-19 If the Internet were invented today, Estonian bureaucrats would find a way to ban it or heavily hamper it.
2015-06-18 New York Bitlicense not half as bad as the shitty laws of the former Soviet republic of Estonia.
2015-06-18 The appeals court ruled that in Estonia there is no right to avoid self-incrimination when one has not officially been charged.
2015-06-18 The court ruling came in, unfortunately I will not have to amend the conclusion in upcoming Estonia vs Bitcoin presentations.
2015-06-17 English (original) version of the speech I gave in court. #Bitcoin #Estonia
2015-06-17 The Nihilist article regarding Bitcoin and my court case against the Estonian police, now also in English!
2015-06-17 Nihilist also published the Estonian version of the speech I gave to the court during the hearing.
2015-06-17 Nihilist published a neat article about the way Estonian authorities have treated Bitcoin, with a lot of talk about my Bitcoin case.
2015-06-09 Ironic: Estonia refuses to provide the EC with information that could be used against it.
2015-05-27 The hearing in my appeal went well, made a statement to the court...
2015-05-19 Everything happened online, no need to personally visit a branch as you would in Estonia.
2015-05-18 Andreas Antonopoulos on Estonia
2015-05-12 Shameless Estonian propaganda claims their IT backbonesystem is based on blockchain technology.
2015-04-23 Spain is also far ahead of Estonia in terms of Bitcoin regulation.
2015-04-20 The Netherlands ranks third in the world in terms of Bitcoin investments.
2015-04-20 Asked Andreas Antonopoulos what he would tell the government of Estonia about the consequences of their attitude towards Bitcoin.
2015-04-16 Estonia submitted arguments to the European Court of Justice showing it to be by far the most anti-Bitcoin country in the European Union.
2015-04-09 The entire Estonian anti-Bitcoin crusade comes from UNELECTED bureaucrats.
2015-04-09 Video of the VPRO tegenlicht meetup is online, my segment is from 35:45 to 49:30.
2015-04-07 Thank you, whomever it was, for the latest unexpected donation in Bitcoin to my legal defense fund.
2015-04-07 Estonia's claim to be "the most transparent country in the world" rings more hollow than ever.
2015-04-07 May this be a good time to remind everyone that I used to love Estonia
2015-04-06 I've been invited by VPRO to talk about Estonia... on Wednesday in Pakhuis de Zwijger.
2015-04-06 The hearing in the appeal in my Bitcoin case is on May 27th.
2015-04-05 e-Estonia in one word: overhyped. VPRO Tegenlicht #Estonia
2015-03-18 Met three young Russians, who fled Russia, like I fled Estonia.
2015-03-17 Another fine example of that "unprecedented level transparency and accessibility"?
2015-03-10 TeliaSonera transparency report reveals Estonia has a direct access system to all communications.
2015-03-02 Today was possibly the last time in my life that I filed a tax return in Estonia.
2015-02-26 Blogging in Russia vs Bitcoin in Estonia.
2015-02-21 The official Estonian election site can be so smug about e-elections.
2015-02-21 Good presentation addressing many of the fundamental problems with e-voting via the Internet.
2015-02-20 Prime Minister of Estonia demo's e-voting and I describe how it really is.
2015-02-20 A bit of news for Estonia: in the Netherlands everything is also done via the Internet.
2015-02-18 An answer from Aivar Paul to my LTC question.
2015-02-16 A year since Aivar Paul and his department launched their attack against me to scare people from Bitcoin.
2015-02-14 From the geniuses at the Estonian Ministry of Finance.
2015-02-11 Estonian "transparency" seems to be that the law is public and anyone is allowed to read it!
2015-02-11 The court system is the biggest gambling operation in the world.
2015-02-10 Let's see how this goes.... Subject: Teabenõue
2015-02-03 Another imho undeserved ranking for Estonia.
2015-02-03 Got a long reply from the Estonian Ministry of Finance to my request for information.
2015-01-30 Can anyone translate this, I am really confused as to what it means.
2015-01-29 Police refusing to answer simple questions underlines that this Bitcoin saga is just a farce.
2015-01-28 Estonian Financial "Intelligence" Unit again avoids to answer anything.
2015-01-23 Russian government's reasons to ban Bitcoin sound eerily similar to what the head of Estonia's FIU says.
2015-01-22 The MF confirmed receiving my request but the FIU did not.
2015-01-22 Since the FIU is so unhelpful, I am sending a request to the Ministry of Finance too.
2015-01-22 My follow up request for information from the Estonian Financial "Intelligence" Unit.
2015-01-21 "Madise confirmed as next chancellor of justice" in Estonia.
2015-01-20 Clear statement by the Estonian police showing that they refuse to provide information.
2015-01-20 Estonian police's answer to my request for information, they basically refuse to answer any questions.
2015-01-19 Just paid the latest lawyer bill of nearly 1900 Euro.
2015-01-18 Two of the top three Bitcoin friendly cities are Dutch.
2015-01-17 Another reminder that living in Estonia for so long was a huge mistake.
2015-01-17 Me and my family leaving accounts for 0.24% of net annual emigration from Estonia.
2015-01-16 With just 169 cards issued, the so-called "e-residency" program isn't really off to a very good start.
2015-01-13 Request for information, sent earlier today to rahapesu@politsei.ee
2015-01-12 Aivar Paul, the man most responsible for making cryptocurrency startups impossible in Estonia, is on a media tour trying to appear reasonable.
2015-01-08 If Estonian law was so clear how come no-one knew and how come even a large currency exchange, like Tavid, had no clue?
2015-01-07 Now even Nigeria is getting ahead of Estonia in the Bitcoin economy!
2014-12-29 LOL, Who would have ever thought that Estonia and Krugman share some common ground?
2014-12-28 Press release by Russian central bank sounds like what Estonian police and central bank say about Bitcoin.
2014-12-27 Is the anti-Bitcoin paranoia in the former Soviet Union finally starting to come to an end?
2014-12-19 After Estonia's 20% tax on Bitcoin sales, Belarus, slaps a 30% tax on foreign currency sales.
2014-12-19 Estonia argues to ECJ that Bitcoin is not a form of payment, but in my case it argues that it is!
2014-12-19 Yesterday my lawyer filed the papers for the appeal in my Bitcoin case.
2014-12-18 Estonian state focuses only on the bad things that Bitcoin could be used for, completely ignoring all the good things.
2014-12-18 Estonian Police doesn't know which currency is used most to buy drugs in Tallinn.
2014-12-17 I received the printed version of that letter after the deadline had expired!!!
2014-12-17 Aivar Paul forgets there is already a general AML limit.
2014-12-17 Now they tell me via a newspaper that it was actually a criminal investigation!!!!
2014-12-17 Btc.ee was easily found but we never heard of localbitcoins.com
2014-12-16 Euro offers option to launder money.
2014-12-16 FIU chief Aivar Paul spends his time talking to the press about two Bitcoin trading cases involving a few thousand Euros.
2014-12-13 Anti-Bitcoin stance taken by separate Estonian state institutions is likely more than a coincidence.
2014-12-11 Today at 21:00 I am speaking about Estonia and Bitcoins to Paul Buitink on Google Hangout.
2014-12-11 Estonia is still taking the most anti-Bitcoin attitude possible, and is now taking this attitude to the EU.
2014-12-10 Notice to future e-residents: Estonian law requires all proceeding with the state to be in Estonian.
2014-12-10 First US citizen to receive ID card is a Bitcoin investor.
2014-12-08 Some friends suggested that my troubles have to do with a critical article about the Estonian ID card that I wrote.
2014-12-05 I was interviewed by Elver Loho from BasedReport.
2014-12-01 Write-up on the appeal in my Bitcoin case against the Estonian police and the issues that are involved.
2014-12-01 Today is "e-residency" hype day in Estonia.
2014-11-26 Gave Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves a Bitcoin tip via Twitter.
2014-11-23 Crowdfunding my appeal.
2014-11-22 The law Estonian police is applying to Bitcoins, is in violation of EU law, according to my lawyer.
2014-11-19 The conclusion of my presentation 2 weeks ago in Amsterdam was...
2014-11-19 So in Estonia you can be compelled to cooperate with an investigation against yourself! Good to know.
2014-11-19 I am planning to restart my Bitcoin hobby in the Netherlands.
2014-11-18 The Estonian court decided against me. No freedom to innovate.
2014-11-13 Estonian police claims some criminal cases are not investigated due to budgetary restrictions...
2014-11-13 Summary of Bitcoin Wednesday last week in Amsterdam, including a paragraph about my presentation.
2014-11-06 Estonian Cryptocurrency Association founded.
2014-11-04 Will give a short talk in Amsterdam about my experience in Estonia with Bitcoins.
2014-11-03 And they call it... "E"stonia
2014-10-31 "The Estonian police can re-interpret the law, keep their interpretation secret, and apply it retroactively and arbitrarily."
2014-10-22 The court announced that the ruling in my Bitcoin case will be made public on November 18th at 16:00.
2014-10-21 The Estonian police asked the court not to accept my declaration of costs.
2014-10-16 Barely in the Netherlands and already invited to give presentation about Bitcoin troubles in Estonia.
2014-10-10 Last night in Tallinn... already sipping Panamanian rum.
2014-10-10 Update on my Bitcoin case: the police does NOT want to compromise.
2014-10-09 The movers came. All our stuff is on its way to the Netherlands (I hope).
2014-10-06 Someone asked a Bitcoin related question to Andrus Ansip, commissioner for the Digital Single Market, and referred to my case....
2014-10-05 This about sums up the situation in Estonia.
2014-10-02 The court hearing in my Bitcoin case went very well!
2014-10-01 Here's one country ranking president Ilves isn't going to tweet about: The Global Competitiveness Report.
2014-09-20 Today is National Thank a Police Officer Day.
2014-09-20 To my knowledge the Estonian Police has not taken any action against other Bitcoin traders since they targeted me.
2014-09-19 A court hearing in my Bitcoin case is planned on October 2nd.
2014-09-16 Estonia's lawmakers are ready to prohibit the consumption of water.
2014-09-15 Sometimes one story brings it all together... Bitcoin, Russia, technophobia, hypocrisy.
2014-08-25 Estonian financial institutions do not accept the electronic ID card as proof of ID.
2014-08-15 Estonia uses FinFischer, a spyware product from a company of ill repute.
2014-08-09 Thursday was my last day at work.
2014-08-01 If you'd apply the Estonian state's anti-Bitcoin attitude to the Internet, you'd get this.
2014-07-08 Today I resigned from my job, thus begins the end of our life in Estonia. #BitcoinRefugee
2014-06-12 Meanwhile, millions of Euros are being laundered by Estonian companies for Russian "businessmen"
2014-06-08 Previous victim of overzealous anti-Bitcoin actions by the Estonian police sees case end.
2014-05-29 Videos of last week's Bitcoin Event in Tallinn are up.
2014-05-23 Articles about Wednesday's Tallinn Bitcoin conference in the English press.
2014-05-22 Äripäev, Estonia's business newspaper, published 4 articles on yesterday's Bitcoin conference (in Estonian).
2014-05-21 From today onwards BTC.ee will be operated by a company in the Netherlands.
2014-05-20 Estonian government burdens companies with 80 million Euros additional administrative costs.
2014-05-20 Meanwhile in Africa...
2014-05-19 Just e-voted in the European Parliamentary election.
2014-05-19 "Politician's Sushi Order Kicks Off Bitcoin Focus Week in Tallinn"
2014-05-13 So fed up with the Estonian ID card!
2014-05-12 Interesting report of E-voting in Estonia.
2014-05-07 The interview on national TV with my lawyer is now viewable online.
2014-05-07 "Is Bitcoin here to stay?" Conference on May 21st in Tallinn University.
2014-05-06 My lawyer, Priit Lätt, will appear on the Estonian Television morning show.
2014-05-06 Paid first lawyer bill. The Estonian state now owes me.
2014-04-29 A new article about my #Bitcoin case.
2014-04-21 "Me vs the Estonian Police" Update.
2014-04-07 Estonian police targeted me for having an Estonian version of my site.
2014-04-03 Only statement regarding Bitcoins made by ANY Estonian governmental institution, prior to their action against me.
2014-04-03 "We have not kept our opinion in secret – we just did not saw the need for composing something like that earlier."
2014-04-02 My tax Euros at work - paying for the police that is threatening me.
2014-04-02 Last Friday I decided to go to court against the Estonian police.
2014-03-26 I've traveled all over Estonia, spent hours putting photos online, to show the world what a beautiful country this is.
2014-03-25 Estonian police refuses to answer the most basic question about the legality of exchanging Bitcoins.
2014-03-25 Just amazing, the Estonian government found a new thing to harass me with.
2014-03-19 Tavid is not going to start buying and selling Bitcoins.
2014-03-19 A financial service (payment method) in one part of the law, but not in another part of the law.
2014-03-18 ATMs offering Bitcoins are already widespread in Lithuania.
2014-03-18 The purchase of Malla manor, is possibly the biggest transaction involving Bitcoin profits to date.
2014-03-06 I met the other victim of the Police clampdown on Bitcoin trading in Estonia.
2014-03-03 Some person selling Bitcoins in Estonia was apparently sent a payment from a stolen bank account.
2014-03-01 Update on the police vs me.
2014-02-26 Second death blow to any serious Bitcoin business in Estonia.
2014-02-25 Again received an e-mail from the police.
2014-02-22 Aivar Paul claims that they didn't ask me for personal details of all people that bought or sold Bitcoins.
2014-02-21 A very good article on Bitcoins in Estonia, in light of my case.
2014-02-20 An interesting opinion about Bitcoins in Estonia. [In Estonian]
2014-02-20 Can anyone provide an exact translation of this sentence?
2014-02-18 Another (short) article about my case, this time in Estonian.
2014-02-17 My case is in the news now...
2014-02-15 One aspect of the law that the Estonian police wishes to apply to Bitcoin trading.
2014-02-13 Received threats from the Estonian police for buying and selling a few Bitcoins.

Binance · Digital Ocean · Crypto.com

BTC.ee was created as a hobby project by Otto de Voogd, and is now operated from the Netherlands.

This site is hosted in the United States of America and thus protected by the US Constitution, in particular the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech. This site does not fall under the jurisdiction of any other country, including Estonia.