Tennessee financial institutions commissioner Greg Gonzalez spearheads task force to investigate use of Bitcoin, with nine state bank regulators on board
The world’s most consumer-friendly and liberal commercial market in the world has been known to be very accepting of the use of virtual currencies between private individuals, but has taken a very strict stance toward online market places such as Silk Road and has highlighted the pitfalls of using bitcoin exchanges since Bitfloor went to the wall a year ago.
Senior financial officials on a per-State basis are now beginning to focus on studying the entire business of virtual currencies and how consumers can be protected, if at all possible, against potential loss of their virtual currencies.
The State of Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions’ long-standing Commissioner Greg Gonzalez has joined a task force which explores the growing use of Bitcoin.
Under the designation of The Emerging Payments Task Force, the group consists of nine state bank regulators and will study the impact of new payment systems on consumer protection and on the overall financial marketplace.
Commissioner Gonzalez was reported by the Tennessean as having stated that “it’s important for us to look at what’s happening, to see how that impacts all these institutions we regulate.”
“One of the practical things we want to accomplish is being able to provide advice to the public with respect to virtual currencies” he continued.
The task force has had two meetings and is planning a public hearing next month in Chicago. The focus includes virtual currencies, but also new technologies related to moving traditional currencies.
The possibility of regulating bitcoin has met mixed reviews among users. Some have welcomed it as a means to further legitimize the currency, while others are drawn to the currency for its ability to operate outside of government control. They see regulation as a threat to the currency’s free spirit.
“My main fear is if they do regulate bitcoin in the U.S., whether on a local level or a national level, that will continue to push innovation to other countries,” said John Meese, a bitcoin user in Nashville. “This is a new technology that is moving at an incredibly fast pace, and it’s going to do that whether or not the U.S. is part of that.”
The United States has always been welcoming of new and innovative business ventures, especially when they have extremely high potential as with Bitcoin. In the light of the demise of MtGox, which was the last in a line of virtual currency-related venue failures, the bureaucrats are now in a position where they must toe a thin line between favoring free enterprise and ensuring the best interests of citizens.
Can the seemingly unregulatable be regulated? If so, the nation opens itself up to a whole new method of conducting payment without limits.
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