Commonwealth gov'ts urge to consider legislative response to virtual currencies

Commonwealth governments should review their legislative response to virtual currencies such as bitcoin to ensure they are addressing associated risks and avoid stifling innovation, a Commonwealth working group issued on Wednesday.

After a three-day conference in London, the newly-formed Commonwealth Virtual Currencies Working Group concluded that member states should consider the applicability of their existing legal frameworks to virtual currencies and where appropriate they should consider adapting them or enacting new legislation to regulate virtual currencies.

In addition, the group called for governments to provide education and funding for training for law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, regulatory authorities and the financial sector.

Virtual currencies -- decentralized, digital representations of value traded between individuals bypassing banks -- are gaining traction globally and have taken center stage in debates about transparency, fairness and financial inclusion.

The Commonwealth Virtual Currencies Working Group is made up of Australia, Barbados, Kenya, Nigeria, Singapore and Tonga together with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

The role of the group is to raise awareness, develop capacity among member states and provide technical guidance.

The first meeting of the Commonwealth Working Group on Virtual Currencies took place on Aug. 24-26, 2015, in London. Endit