North Carolina legislators consider law regulating commerce in virtual currencies like Bitcoinhttp://www.tribtown.com/view/story/e98c2af5d2eb43bea9d09c86e00e689b/NC--Virtual-CurrencyRALEIGH, North Carolina — Legislators in America's second-largest banking center are considering regulations for Bitcoin and other virtual currencies.
North Carolina's banking commissioner is seeking legislative authority to require that companies circulating digital IOUs meet consumer protection, anti-money laundering and other standards. Legislation passed the state House earlier this month and is pending in the Senate.
Though North Carolina State University's football team won last December's Bitcoin Bowl in St. Petersburg, Florida, the public's understanding of virtual currency is still in catch-up mode.
The online-only money allows users to swap cash for online funds using Internet exchanges, then store it in a wallet program on their computer. The program can transfer payments to a merchant or private party anywhere in the world, eliminating transaction fees and the need to provide bank or credit card information. There are dozens of decentralized currencies based on the bitcoin protocol like Litecoin, Auroracoin and Peercoin.
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