The price of Bitcoin soared on Monday to a new all-time high of around US$645.00, mainly because of a hearing by the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs happening now. Committee members are examining the challenges and benefits of the virtual currency from a law-enforcement and regulatory perspective.
Jerry Brito, a senior research fellow with the Mercatus Center, is one of seven witnesses scheduled to testify during the two panel hearing, “Beyond Silk Road: Potential Risks, Threats, and Promises of Virtual Currencies.” Brito says that “Congress has been educating itself and understands that there are great potential benefits, and like any new technology there are going to be some challenges. But they see there is a balance to be struck here and they are generally positive on the technology.’’
Sources: Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch.