On Thursday, Ecuador’s Congress will vote on a proposal to create a state-controlled digital currency, and to prohibit the use of any digital currency in the country not backed by the nation’s central bank. Regional news outlet PanAm Post reports that the move was presented by President Rafael Correa as “a matter of urgency,” although […]

Speaking at the North American Bitcoin Conference (NABC) on Satuday, Forbes columnist and former congressional staffer Perianne Boring announced plans to create a “Chamber of Digital Commerce” to advocate for sensible bitcoin regulations at the federal level. The move follows the initiation of pro-cryptocurrency lobbying efforts by Falcon Global Capital in May, and a more […]

The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFN) published the draft version of their regulatory framework for bitcoin and other digital currencies this morning. The “BitLicense” rules are aimed largely at digital currency service providers, such as exchanges and hosted wallet companies, and would effectively exempt any company using a third-party bitcoin payment service from […]

New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) superintendent Ben Lawsky announced via Twitter yesterday that his agency was facing some delays in the finalization of rules for digital currency-using companies in the state. Originally planned for debut around the first of the month, the much-anticipated regulations will provide guidelines for how the range of financial […]

Earlier this week, the California State Assembly sent Assembly Bill 129, which formally recognizes bitcoin and other digital currencies as legal forms of exchange, to the desk of Governor Jerry Brown. Brown signed the bill into law today, making California the first state to give such recognition and legal protection to bitcoin. Although the law […]

In May, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) drafted a confidential report about the increasing need for meaningful digital currency policies. The GAO report suggested that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) be tasked with the job. The agency was created in the wake of the 2007 financial crisis, and is already tasked with handling thorny […]

In a new report published by Switzerland’s Federal Council, regulators claim that the “economic importance of virtual currencies as a means of payment is fairly insignificant at the moment.” The report claims that bitcoin and other digital currencies will have a marginal effect on the Swiss economy for the “foreseeable future,” and no influence on […]

Japanese lawmakers announced yesterday that they would not be implementing regulations on bitcoin or other virtual currencies for the time being. The announcement from Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the ruling government party in the country’s Parliamentary system, won’t be official policy until additional hearings are completed. Speaking with Reuters, LDP lawmaker Takuya Hirai said: […]

Located mere miles of the coast of Scotland, the self-governing British Crown Dependency Isle of Man has long served as a haven for those wanting to escape regulatory forces of the U.K. With virtually no taxes, the country has also attracted several companies who make their profit in various forms of arbitrage, including a healthy […]

Last week, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) hosted its Emerging Payments Task Force at a meeting in Chicago. The task force met with representatives from SecondMarket, CoinX, Xapo and BitPay to discuss the the current state of bitcoin regulation and its impact on the quickly growing virtual currency industry. Speaking with the CSBS […]