Digital currency firms are still struggling to meet state licensing requirements and secure banking relationships, industry analysts told ACAMS moneylaundering.com.
For all of the rhetoric to the contrary, virtual currencies may turn out to be a tempest in a teapot, at least for money laundering investigators, according to Jeffrey Robinson, author of "Bitcon: The Naked Truth About Bitcoin."
New York's financial regulator could soon hone expected rules on the use of virtual currencies after industry representatives complained to the agency that parts of its initial plan were vague.
Love or hate New Yorks plans to shield Bitcoin and its competitors from financial crooks, one thing is certain: the proposal is only the first of dozens that will shape the industry.
Virtual currency businesses operating in New York may soon have to obtain special licenses and establish anti-money laundering, cyber security and consumer protection programs, the state's banking regulator announced Thursday.
More than a year into an effort by the digital currency industry to convince critics that its promise doesn't extend to criminals more than consumers, Bitcoin proponents are questioning whether they have the right messenger to deliver their message.
As federal investigators continue to pursue illicit online vendors in the wake of its high-profile prosecution of Silk Road, they will face two hurdles: evolving data-encryption and an atomized black market.
For all of the legitimate concerns and overheated rhetoric about the rise of crypto-currencies, the biggest problem for Bitcoin may be one seldom discussed by critics: its abuse by tax dodgers.
At the same time that the nation's financial intelligence unit is readying unprecedented fines against compliance officers, the agency is facing stark questions about its enforcement efforts, including its hiring practices.
With New York rules for digital currency exchanges in the works, other states are stepping up to draft rules of their own, speakers at a Manhattan Bitcoin conference said Monday.
With greater regulatory clarity, U.S. banks would embrace the digital currency companies they currently turn away due to compliance concerns, Bitcoin investors told New York State regulatory officials Tuesday.
A well-known advocate of digital currencies and the head of a Bitcoin exchange house facilitated over $1 million in transactions tied to an online black market, federal prosecutors said Monday.
Turned away by American banks, some U.S.-based digital currency companies are using foreign bank accounts to send their proceeds back into the United States to pay employees and clients.
Ready or not, Bitcoin is growing in Europe, even as European regulators struggle to figure out how or if they'll police the virtual currency.
The regulatory concerns of Bitcoin and other digital currency platforms may extend beyond the anti-money laundering requirements outlined by the U.S. Treasury Department earlier this year, lawmakers and congressional witnesses said Tuesday.