In its Second Quarter 2014 edition, Banking New York quoted Venable partner Ed Wilson on how he thinks the virtual currency Bitcoin will evolve in coming years. He explained that “Regulation by an established regulatory regime, such as New York’s Department of Financial Services, will help bring legitimacy and stability to the bitcoin market. A result will be broader use of bitcoin, and, perhaps, greater innovation in the use of bitcoin ‘rails’ – that is, intermediaries – to transmit other types of financial information securely. At the same time,” he said, “one of bitcoin’s great attractions is that it is relatively free from the costs of regulation (as well as regulation itself). Regulation brings costs as well as delay to the payment system. At some point, the cost of bitcoin transactions [to comply with regulatory overhead, for example] will approach an amount that deters usage of a ‘private’ currency, one not backed by a government.”
Commenting on bitcoin’s need for greater stability, Wilson said “At the present time using bitcoin is a bit like making a first descent of a river. One doesn’t know if that river’s ‘Victoria Falls’ are around the next bend.”
Commenting on bitcoin’s need for greater stability, Wilson said “At the present time using bitcoin is a bit like making a first descent of a river. One doesn’t know if that river’s ‘Victoria Falls’ are around the next bend.”