Bitcoin hearing positive for the digital currency
The positive attitude towards bitcoin caused the currencys value to increase considerably, with the price per unit soaring as high as $700 on some exchanges.
November 19, 2013 at 06:12 AM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Law.com
Bitcoin made another leap toward legitimacy this week as federal regulators held hearings to discuss the promise and the risk of the burgeoning virtual currency.
On Nov 18, regulators held the first ever hearing on bitcoin, with discussion and questions from a committee of senior law enforcement and regulatory officials. The framing of the discussion centered on the anonymity and decentralized nature of the currency, exploring its capacity to facilitate both business growth and illegal activity online.
Despite the risks though, The Wall Street Journal reports that regulators were receptive to the fact that bitcoin does have a place in the economy, offering an alternative means of exchange online.
“The Department of Justice recognizes that many virtual currency systems offer legitimate financial services and have the potential to promote more efficient global commerce,” Mythili Raman, acting assistant attorney general for the department's criminal division, said in testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee The Wall Street Journal reports.
The positive attitude towards bitcoin caused the currency's value to increase considerably, with the price per unit soaring as high as $700 on some exchanges. The currency's estimated market capitalization now exceeds $8 billion, despite being only four-years-old.
Bitcoin is not centrally backed, but it has seen increasing acceptance in businesses across the world. That being said it is still best known for its association with SilkRoad, an online market that used the digital currency to sell everything from drugs to murder-for-hire services.
“Bitcoin can facilitate private and anonymous transactions, which are resistant to oversight and control,” Patrick Murck, general counsel for the bitcoin Foundation said in his testimony. “This by no means implies that using bitcoin can or should provide anyone immunity from the law.”
Regulators still want to ensure that the use of bitcoin does not increase protection for those who would use it for illegal activity. Ensuring that the currency is subject to the same rules as any financial institution, especially those that would prevent it from being used in money laundering schemes is a top priority.
The hearings will continue on Nov 19, when Senior Treasury Department officials are expected to weigh in.
Check out these stories in financial risk:
Regulators set sights on Bitcoin
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Trending Stories
- 1Reed Smith Welcomes New Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer
- 2Ticket-Fixing Scheme Results in Western NY Judge's Resignation—for a Second Time
- 3Legal Community Mourns the Loss of Trailblazing Judge Dorothy Chin Brandt
- 4Delaware Supreme Court, Reversing Chancery, Lowers Review Standard for TripAdvisor Move to Nevada
- 5Haynes and Boone Expands in New York With 7-Lawyer Seward & Kissel Fund Finance, Securitization Team
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
