The United States and global regulation of convertible virtual currencies

Abstract

The regulation of convertible virtual currencies (for instance Bitcoin) is an area both of global cooperation and global competition. On the one hand, virtual currencies create serious problems of payment for illegal transactions, money laundering, tax evasion, and consumer fraud. On the other hand such currencies, have the potential to lower the costs of commercial and consumer transactions and to facilitate international trade. Both dealing with the problems and realizing the potential of virtual currencies require international cooperation.
There is no uniformity in national legislation on virtual currency. A recent survey of over 100 countries showed a wide variation in both the amount and methods of regulation 2 . While, at this stage, experimentation with various types of regulation may help discover better ways to deal with this currency, on the other hand, there is a real danger that some countries will be come unregulated virtual currency havens where the worst aspects of virtual currency can flourish.
This article will look at United States law, and also at existing and needed international cooperation in the areas of taxation, investor protection, consumer protection, monetary regulation, and crime prevention.