The U.S. government is surprisingly cool with Bitcoin

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke says the virtual currency holds promise

Bernanke
(Image credit: (Mark Wilson/Getty Images))

Bitcoin — the virtual currency mined by solving complex cryptographic problems, and built around a peer-to-peer ledger called a block chain — is often associated with crypto-anarchists on the fringes of society who see such currencies as a means to challenge or attack state power.

But recently, virtual currencies like Bitcoin have been winning praise from unlikely quarters — government officials. In a letter this week answering an inquiry from Congress, outgoing Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stated that he thought they may hold "long-term promise":

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John Aziz is the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also an associate editor at Pieria.co.uk. Previously his work has appeared on Business Insider, Zero Hedge, and Noahpinion.