Virtual Currency

Virtual Currency (aka Digital Currency or Digital Money) is a type of currency or medium of exchange that is not issued by any government nor guaranteed by a government currency. Despite lacking legal tender status, Virtual Currency is still traded and exchanged in some environments, typically online environments or communities. Bitcoin is the most well-known form of Virtual Currency.

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News & Analysis as of May 22, 2013

Manhattan Bar Accepts Bitcoins as Payment

by Jenna Karadbil | Pillsbury Social Media, Entertainment &... on 5/20/2013

A new Manhattan bar has become one of the few brick and mortar operations to accept Bitcoins as a method of payment. For more information, see New York City bar Accepting Bitcoins as Payment....more

Bitcoin Exchange Assets Seized

by James G. Gatto | Pillsbury Social Media, Entertainment &... on 5/20/2013

Federal authorities executed a seizure warrant against a bank account associated with one of the leading bitcoin exchanges. The warrant was not based on bitcoins themselves being illegal. Rather, the entity was not registered...more

Bitcoin Regulatory Update: Understanding the Federal Government’s Attack on Mt. Gox

by Fuerst Ittleman David & Joseph, PL on 5/17/2013

Bad news travels fast. On May 14, Magistrate Judge Susan Gauvey of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland signed a Seizure Warrant authorizing the Federal Government to seize “the contents of Dwolla...more

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Issues Guidance on Virtual Currency

by Elsa Broeker, JiJi Park, Amy L. Pierce, Deborah Thoren-Peden | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP on 5/16/2013

FinCEN recently issued interpretive guidance to clarify that it views certain activities involving convertible virtual currencies as money transmission services under the Bank Secrecy Act and FinCEN regulations. If your...more

Virtual Currency: Recent Federal Regulatory Considerations

by Timothy R. McTaggart, Matthew R. Silver | Pepper Hamilton LLP on 5/2/2013

Bitcoin is a virtual currency – it has no physical form in paper or metal and is not connected with any central bank or governmental authority. It is freely tradable via the internet or other electronic means. Transactions in...more

Are Investors Lining Up Behind Another and Better Bitcoin?

by Jeff Ifrah on 4/15/2013

We have written previously about Bitcoin, the new form of “peer-to-peer” currency whose proponents expect to be a game-changer in the world financial markets. It’s not clear yet what Bitcoin’s ultimate destination will be, as...more

Virtual Currency Under Federal Anti-Money Laundering Laws: FinCEN Provides Guidance

by David Beam | K&L Gates LLP on 4/5/2013

A lot of companies transact in credits that might be called “virtual currency.” Most of these companies probably do not consider themselves financial institutions. Many have never considered the possibility that they need to...more

Banking & Financial Services E-Note - March 28, 2013

by Jason Beckham, Rachel Cash, Benjamin Coulter, David Elliott, Jacquelyn Hutzell, Joseph King, Mignon Lunsford, Zachary Miller, Kristin Peters, Ed Snow, Adam Sonenshine, Frank Springfield, more +Jordan Teague | Burr & Forman on 4/3/2013

In This Issue: - Global Banking Group Calls for Several Rates to Replace Libor - U.S. Applies Money-Laundering Rules to "Virtual Currencies" - SEC Says Big Banks Don't Have to Hold Shareholder Break-Up Votes -...more

Around the Virtual Word: March 25-29, 2013

by Pillsbury Social Media, Entertainment &... on 4/1/2013

A weekly wrap up of interesting news about virtual worlds, virtual goods and other social media. In This Issue: - RUMOR: Google Is Launching An Augmented Reality Based E-Book Line - Valve Can't Pull Plug...more

FinCEN Issues Guidance On Virtual Currencies

by BuckleySandler LLP on 3/26/2013

On March 18, FinCEN issued guidance to clarify the applicability of Bank Secrecy Act regulations to persons creating, obtaining, distributing, exchanging, accepting, or transmitting virtual currencies. FinCEN clarifies that a...more

FinCEN Issues Virtual Currency Guidance

by Keith R. Fisher, Alan S. Kaplinsky, Beth Moskow-Schnoll, Mercedes Kelley Tunstall | Ballard Spahr LLP on 3/25/2013

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued formal guidance to clarify the anti-money laundering obligations of administrators and exchangers of convertible virtual currency. “Virtual” currency, unlike...more

New FinCEN Guidance Changes Regulatory Landscape For Virtual Currencies And Some Prepaid Programs

by Joseph Cutler, J. Dax Hansen, Carla L. Reyes | Perkins Coie on 3/22/2013

To address a perceived gap in regulatory treatment of increasingly popular virtual currencies, including Bitcoin, the U.S. Department of the Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released new guidance on...more

Bitcoins: Online Currency’s Uncharted Frontier

by Jeff Ifrah on 1/16/2013

Bitcoin – it sounds like a token you might use to play skeeball at a beachside arcade. It is actually a relatively new, virtual online “currency” being used for payments across the Internet. While some observers have noted...more

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