The Bitcoin Foundation is adding to its ranks as regulators around the world struggle with how to oversee the evolving world of digital currency.
The foundation announced on Tuesday that it had hired Jim Harper, director of information policy studies at the libertarian research group the Cato Institute, as global policy counsel. Mr. Harper will act as a liaison to governments around the world for the foundation, a nonprofit advocacy group that has previously met with federal regulators in an effort to push for a broader understanding and adoption of Bitcoin.
“Like many in the Bitcoin community, he is passionate about doing his part in achieving Bitcoin’s social and economic potential,†a spokeswoman for the foundation, Jinyoung Lee Englund, said in an email.
Mr. Harper’s appointment with the foundation is effective immediately. He will remain at Cato in the reduced role of a senior fellow.
In addition to Mr. Harper, the foundation announced it had hired Amy Weiss as a consultant, bringing the group’s total number of full-time employees to eight, all of whom are paid in Bitcoin. Ms. Weiss has previously served as a White House deputy press secretary under Bill Clinton and as vice president of public affairs for the United Nations Foundation.
The hirings come at a turning point in the world of computer-driven virtual currency, as regulators weigh how to manage a rapidly evolving marketplace with no central regulator or authority. The announcements came the same day as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Wall Street’s self-regulator, issued an investor alert warning of Bitcoin’s risks.
“As with so many other ‘hot’ or new trends, fraudsters may see the latest digital currency trend as a chance to steal your money through old-fashioned fraud,†the warning stated.
Last month, the Bitcoin community was rattled by the collapse of Mt. Gox, which was at one point the largest online Bitcoin exchange.
Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States on Sunday after announcing that nearly 750,000 of its customers’ Bitcoins, worth close to $500 million, had gone missing. The company has also filed for bankruptcy in Japan.
The bankruptcy brought even more scrutiny to a fledgling currency that already has some regulators worried about its potential use in drug trafficking and other illegal activities. Federal prosecutors are currently investigating Silk Road, the now-defunct online marketplace accused of aiding money laundering and other illicit transactions.
Authorities in other countries are also struggling with just how to oversee Bitcoin. Russia, for example, has banned the currency altogether, while other countries, including Germany, have generally favored the new technology.
Mr. Harper previously served as a member of the Department of Homeland Security’s Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee. He was already a member of the Bitcoin Foundation before his appointment as global policy counsel, and he has made it clear that he favors integrating Bitcoin into existing regulation rather than creating new rules specific to virtual currency.
“Technology-specific regulation is generally eschewed by most people,†Mr. Harper said on Tuesday. “So the idea that Bitcoin should be specifically regulated doesn’t make a lot of sense.â€
