11 Mar 2014 / Wall Street Journal – Bitcoin advocates are pumping up efforts to reach out to governments that are scrutinizing the fledgling virtual currency.
The Bitcoin Foundation, a trade group, on Tuesday said that it has hired Jim Harper, an official at the Cato Institute, a libertarian policy organization, to “identify political impediments to bitcoin adoption, and build confidence in bitcoin among governments around the world.”
The move to hire a lobbyist comes as governments are tussling with a number of issues related to bitcoin, ranging from how it should be regulated to whether it should be taxed. Russia and China have clamped down on bitcoin in recent months, while other countries continue to assess its role and effect on their citizens and businesses.
In the U.S., the New York Department of Financial Services recently held two days of public hearings into virtual currencies as it prepares to issue a regulatory framework later this year.
The five-year-old electronic currency has attracted a significant amount of attention in the past year, sending its price to more than $600 from $40 a year ago. Venture capitalists are pouring money into bitcoin-related companies, and a number of mainstream merchants are accepting it for payment….. Read more
