Bitcoin Bashed In China And France: What That Means For The Crypto-currency (+video)

The fact thatmajor governments are merely talking aboutBitcoin rather than outright banning it could be seen as an implicit endorsement of its right to exist, he says, noting that while the Chinese government did ban its national institutions from using it, the ban does not extend to individuals. The Bank of France merely extended warnings. “Even if Bitcoin is not currently a credible investment vehicle and therefore do not pose a significant risk to financial stability, they represent a financial risk for those who hold them, the bank said in a statement.The bank also pointed out that the anonymity of Bitcoinpresents the risk the currency could be used for money-laundering and terrorism. The US has alreadycracked down on sites such as Silk Road that specialize in illicit drugs and weapons, a move that Bitcoin advocates say has helped distance the currency from becoming the preferred means of exchange for those operating outside the law. However, another major concern of many observing the new currency is its ongoing volatility. Following Chinas announcement Thursday, the price of theelectronic cash swooned as Chinese traders cashed in, leading to a nearly 20 percent drop in the trading price for a bitcoin a figure that has seen a nearly 400 percent run-up over the past year,recently topping $1,000.
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Greenspan Says Bitcoin a Bubble Without Intrinsic Currency Value

We all recognize that virtual currencies, in and of themselves, are not illegal, Mythili Raman , acting assistant attorney general at the departments criminal division, told the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke told the Senate committee the U.S. central bank has no plans to regulate the currency.
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Currency for a computer age

The bottle, priced $47, cost him 0.032 bitcoins a week ago. But the value of a bitcoin has gone down – from $1467 to $1261 in just two days – so it would have cost him 0.036 bitcoins to buy the bottle two days later. Pyramid Valley managing director Caine Thompson believes the bitcoin movement is gaining “huge international traction”. “We’re increasingly getting requests from our international customers to be able to pay with bitcoins. “They don’t want to be worried about exchange rates and costly transaction fees.” Thompson says bitcoins will allow the company to increase its customer base around the world through its website. According to bitcoin.org, at the end of August 2013 the value of all bitcoins in circulation exceeded US$ 1.5 billion with millions of dollars worth of bitcoins exchanged daily.
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