Tuesday 18th February, 2014

Over the last couple of months, numerous central banks and national regulators in the US have issued warnings against the use of bitcoin and other digital currencies.

Although the US has not restricted bitcoin yet, there are a number of barriers to the adoption of digital currencies in the country. These are made up of FinCEN rules, regulatory ambiguity and lack of a coherent policy at federal level.

For the most part, it is up to each individual state to regulate. New York State started public hearings on bitcoin last month, with the outcome of these hearings being closely watched.

According to Coindesk, financial regulation remains a controversial topic in the US, but unlike many controversial regulatory attempts in the country, support and criticism of digital currencies transcend party lines. This makes it very difficult to say with any certainty what US lawmakers and regulators may be about to do with respect to digital currencies.

Attorney Adam Ettinger told Bloomberg that any state that becomes bitcoin-friendly will see "a huge increase in companies" in the digital currency space. The fact that California has plenty of tech talent comes in handy, too.

Several high-profile bankers in the East Coast have already voiced their concerns, and the financial sector is not nearly as bitcoin-friendly as many tech companies and online retailers.