Skip to main content

Bitcoin hits $700 high as US Senate stages hearing on virtual currency

Bitcoin hit new highs on Monday, as the Senate held its first hearing on the controversial virtual currency.
The currency topped $700 on the MT Gox exchange, where it is traded, as the Senate discussion began. In April the currency hit a high of $266. Two years ago, Bitcoin was valued at $20.
Before the meeting Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, gave his cautious blessing to the currency. In a letter to the Senate homeland security and government affairs committee, Bernanke said such currencies “may hold long-term promise, particularly if the innovations promote a faster, more secure and more efficient payment system”.
But the Fed chair also warned that he had little power to regulate online currencies.
“Although the Federal Reserve generally monitors developments in virtual currencies and other payments system innovations, it does not necessarily have authority to directly supervise or regulate these innovations or the entities that provide them to the market,” he said.
The hearing before the Senate committee was entitled Beyond Silk Road: Potential Risks, Threats and Promises of Virtual Currencies. Silk Road was an online black market known as “Amazon for drugs” that used Bitcoin for transactions and was closed by the FBI in October. Bitcoins can be traded anonymously and trades are difficult to track.
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/nov/18/bitcoin-risks-rewards-senate-hearing-virtual-currency

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Best IELTS and English language training institutions in Hyderabad

IELTS stands for International English Language Testing System. As the name implies it is basically an English test for testing the proficiency of the language in an individual.  Training for IELTS can be taken to pass the IELTS exam or to develop good english language skills. I am giving the training institute addresses for Hyderabad. The test system is jointly managed by the British Council,IDP education ltd and University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations and more than 1 million candidates are taking the exam all over the world. The test has two versions : 1. Academic 2. General training Academic  version is for people who plan to continue their higher education by enrolling in universities in countries like US,UK,Australia,Canada,New Zealand etc.The academic institutions in these countries consider the IELTS score as a criteria for the admission process. General training is mostly for immigration purposes in countries like Australia,New Zealand,Canada etc. It may ...
9 comments
Read more

How to use home loans most effectively for tax benefits

1) Deduction on interest: If you are paying EMIs for a home loan you took to buy a house, the interest component in the EMI can be claimed as deduction. You must be both an owner and a co-borrower (in the loan) to claim tax benefits. This deduction can be claimed starting the year in which the construction of the house is completed. Suppose the construction of your house was completed on August 30, 2014, you can claim deduction for interest for the entire 12 months in financial year 2014-15. So every year a maximum of Rs. 2 lakh can be claimed for a house that you use for your own residence. If your house is rented, the entire interest for the year can be claimed as deduction. The interest payments for the year shall result in a loss under the head 'income from house property'. This loss can be adjusted against in the same year against other heads of income in your income tax return including salary. Therefore, it reduces your total taxable income and the tax you pay thereon. A...
2 comments
Read more

Intellectual battle against ISIS as important as Military: Sheikh Makhtoum of Dubai

The global financial crisis taught the world how profoundly interdependent our economies have become. In today's crisis of extremism, we must recognize that we are just as interdependent for our security, as is clear in the current struggle to defeat ISIS. Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, VP and prime minister of the UAE, ruler of Dubai If we are to prevent ISIS from teaching us this lesson the hard way, we must acknowledge that we cannot extinguish the fires of fanaticism by force alone. The world must unite behind a holistic drive to discredit the ideology that gives extremists their power, and to restore hope and dignity to those whom they would recruit. ISIS certainly can – and will – be defeated militarily by the international coalition that is now assembling and which the UAE is actively supporting. But military containment is only a partial solution. Lasting peace requires three other ingredients: winning the battle of ideas; upgrading weak governance; and ...
Post a Comment
Read more