News came this week that money laundering regulations are being applied to virtual currencies by the US authorities due to concern that new forms of cash bought on the Internet are being used to fund illicit activities.
With this in mind, the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network released its first “guidance” on the subject. In addition, companies that issue or exchange virtual cash are to be subjected to the same requirements as those applied to traditional money vendors, and the bookkeeping requirements and mandatory reporting on transactions that exceed $10,000 will be more stringent.
All this triggered speculations that due to its growing popularity and expansion in the online gambling space, and in the online drug and download markets, the virtual currency Bitcoin will almost certainly be under scrutiny.
