WASHINGTON – The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee is asking federal officials to explain how they plan to oversee Bitcoin and other virtual currencies, reports Politico.
“The more folks that we talked to related to this issue, it became very clear to us that this is not a sort of technology that’s going away,” a committee aide told the news source, adding, “This isn’t something that’s a flash in the pan. It’s something that’s going to be with us.”
Committee Chairman Tom Carper (D-DE) and ranking member Tom Coburn (R-OK) sent letters on Monday to the Homeland Security Department, Justice Department, Federal Reserve, Treasury Department, Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Office of Management and Budget.
“The expansive nature of this emerging technology demands a holistic and whole-government approach in order to understand and provide a sensible regulatory framework for their existence…we must also ensure that rash or uninformed actions don’t stifle a potentially valuable technology,” the letter stated.
Politico notes that the letters come after two months of committee interviews with government officials, academics and representatives from the finance and tech industries. So far the committee has not scheduled hearings on the issue.
Bitcoin, a digital virtual currency that can be traded on exchanges or used as a form of payment, came under a microscope last week when New York Financial Services Superintendent Benjamin Lawsky sent subpoenas to 22 Bitcoin businesses, asking them for information regarding their money laundering controls, consumer protection practices, source of funding, pitch books (for Bitcoin start-ups) and investment strategies (for Bitcoin investors), writes Forbes.
The news source adds that the New York department wants to make sure Bitcoin company customers’ funds are “safe and sound,” expressing concern about consumer complaints “about how quickly virtual currency transactions are processed.”
Along with increasing attention in Washington, some Bitcoin market participants want to raise the community’s profile on Capitol Hill, notes Politico, adding that the Bitcoin Foundation, a non-profit group whose membership includes representatives from Bitcoin firms, is considering hiring lobbyists.