Research

The Crypto-Currency Conundrum: Regulating an Uncertain Future

Year 2015
Author Ed Howden
Publisher Emory International Law Review
Link View Research Paper
Categories

Bitcoin / Cryptocurrencies / Regulation

Bitcoin is, at best, a beta project.” 1 This statement was not made years ago, but rather in February 2014, one month after Overstock.com—a top-50 internet retailer that posted $293.2 million worth of sales in the second quarter of 2013 2 —began accepting bitcoin as a form of payment. 3 February 2014 was a time when the volume of bitcoin traded at amounts in excess of $30 million every 24 hours. 4 Yet, as the access to bitcoin and its use increases, situations arise that prove the system is still flawed. 5 “Transaction Malleability” is the name of one of these recently exposed flaws that allowed fraudulent users an outlet to engage in fake transactions, which paved the way for one of the oldest and most well known bitcoin exchanges, Mt. Gox, to halt all customer withdrawals. 6