The Digital Citizens Alliance Shares Some of the Latest Research on Bitcoin - and Wants to Hear More from You
Washington, DC - Imagine $1.1 billion floating through cyberspace allowing for almost anonymous transactions that is completely unregulated. It is not science fiction; it is Bitcoin – an online currency. Since the value of Bitcoin skyrocketed last spring, financial analysts and speculators have tracked the currency closely. Digital Citizens Alliance Analyst Garth Bruen has compiled some of the latest information on Bitcoin in a report written for people looking to know more about the currency's Internet safety implications. These findings appear in a new report posted on the Digital Citizens Alliance website today.
Click here to read "Bitcoin's Effect on Internet Safety" by Garth Bruen on the Digital Citizens Alliance's website. A consumer-oriented group focused on making the Internet a safer place, the Digital Citizens Alliance leaders hope to bring together merchants, investors, and those just curious about Bitcoin to the organization's Facebook and twitter pages to share stories and questions about this virtual currency.
"There are many questions about Bitcoin, especially when you consider that the 'creator' of the currency has never publicly spoken about it, few people know how to read or find the ledger that tracks the creation of Bitcoins, and governments have left the currency largely unchecked," said Bruen, an Internet safety analyst who started anti-spam software designer, Knujon. "One thing we do know is that Bitcoin has become a popular currency for criminals. It is the currency of choice for the online black market Silk Road. Many analysts have wondered openly if former customers of Liberty Reserve, the digital currency provider, now accused of being embroiled in the largest money-laundering case in U.S. History, will turn to Bitcoin for similar business."
Digital Citizens Alliance Executive Director Tom Galvin added: "Most Americans probably haven't heard of Bitcoin, but in coming years will if it becomes the currency of choice for cyber criminals. Like any currency, if Bitcoin helps citizens it will do a great service. But if it just becomes an underground currency that enables criminals to avoid detection, then its emergence will be troubling."
Bitcoin has been selling for between $85 and $102 dollars over the last two weeks. In the last six months, one Bitcoin has traded for as much as $266 USD, but dropped as low as $65.42 in July. The currency is wildly volatile.