Serbia’s Bitcoin Community Pledges Response to Central Bank Warning

The National Bank of Serbia (NBS) issued its first statements on bitcoin earlier this month, echoing familiar warnings issued by central banks around the global.
Citing statements from the European Banking Authority, the NBS confirmed that bitcoin is not considered legal tender under the country’s laws, that banks and licensed exchange dealers are prohibited from transacting in bitcoin and that consumers who choose to use digital currency do so at their own risk.
While not the progressive action many in the central European nation had hoped for, members of the local bitcoin community told CoinDesk that they were pleased by the bank’s official recognition of digital currency, describing it as the best possible outcome given the more reactionary actions observed around the world.
Aleksandar Matanovic, a Serbian resident and founder of digital currency exchange and bitcoin ATM operator Bitcoin 365, told CoinDesk:
‘The more modern and open-minded approach would have been a huge surprise, having in mind that Serbia is very slow with adopting innovations, especially in the field of finance.’

This post was published at Coin Desk on October 8, 2014.