It has had a difficult childhood and a rocky adolescence, but Bitcoin is a pretty smart payment protocol that still has a promising future.
This time last December, one might reasonably have expected that 2014 would be a year of modest changes for the anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance sector. Then came JPMorgan Chase, BNP Paribas and a convoy of Russian tanks to quash that notion.
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.
Efforts to ramp up the U.S. financial intelligence unit's enforcement of the Bank Secrecy Act have run into a longstanding hurdle: the bureau's reliance on financial regulators for case leads.
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.
Federal lawmakers are unlikely to move quickly to regulate digital currencies despite congressional skepticism about the technology, a senate staffer told attendees of a Bitcoin conference in New York.
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.
A pair of congressional reports on the financial crime risks associated with Bitcoin and other digital currency platforms are slated for publication in April, say sources.
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.
New York States financial regulator will soon hold a public hearing to determine whether it should license digital currency companies that comply with regulations aimed at money launderers and fraudsters.
The U.S. Treasury Department's financial intelligence unit is considering invoking for the first time a Bank Secrecy Act power to obtain data on foreign banks, say multiple sources.
The indictment Wednesday of an online black market for narcotics and weapons vendors could further hamper proponents of a growing digital currency in the eyes of bank compliance officers.
As digital currencies like Bitcoin continue to gain popularity, banks may have to train their compliance officers on the technical means to trace such money movements, according to Daniel Wood, an assistant general counsel with the Texas Department of Banking.
The second installation of a two-part story on how the Bitcoin market is changing under the scrutiny of federal and state officials.