Historic Hearings: What to Expect when Bitcoin Meets two Senate Committees

Two senate committees are expected to convene soon regarding possible regulatory issues related to decentralized electronic currencies such as bitcoin. Congressional aide sources inside the Senate told the Wall Street Journal that members of government and representatives from the private sector are expected to testify during the hearings. No dates have been set, but the hearings are expected to occur within the next few weeks. "The Bitcoin Foundation thinks these upcoming hearings are good for consumers and others as education on bitcoin is important," Jinyoung Englund, the foundation's....

So maybe you've heard some chatter about United States Senate hearings on Bitcoin this week. But did you know there's more than one hearing on Bitcoin happening in the Senate this week? The first hearing is taking place on Monday and involves the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee. The hearing is taking place at 3 PM Eastern time. Witnesses on the side of the federal government include Jennifer Shasky Calvery of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network at the U. S. Department of the Treasury, Mythili Ramanof the U. S. Department of Justice, and Edward W. Lowery III from....

The price of bitcoin spiked dramatically last night and the transaction volume on the Bitcoin protocol (in USD) eclipsed that of Western Union. The spike took place after Jerry Brito, Patrick Murck and Jeremy Allaire presented their testimonies on bitcoin and the future of virtual currencies to the Homeland Security and Governmental affairs committee in the US senate at the Senate hearing titled Beyond Silk Road: Potential Risks, Threats and Promises of Virtual Currencies. The CoinDesk BPI read $650 on conclusion of the hearings, with Mt. Gox reporting a jump to $750 and, later, BTC China....

TIME is reporting that the Senate Homeland Security Committee is planning to hold hearings on Bitcoin within a month, in a report published today. The committee sent letters to nine federal agencies in July asking for their thoughts on Bitcoins and other virtual currencies in the hopes of developing a holistic approach to the so-called cryptocurrency that neither stifles the currency's potential nor enables criminals to abuse it. Tom Carper, committee chairmain said,

View the full video of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing on virtual currencies here. The Present and Future Impact of Virtual Currency hearing taking place today at the US Senate will be webcasted live on C-SPAN3. The Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs' Subcommittee on National Security and International Trade and Finance, and Subcommittee on Economic Policy will meet in open session. This is the second of two hearings on digital currency this week, the first being held by the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs....