Senate Committee To Hold Hearing on How To Regulate Digital Currencies

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

The first congressional hearing on how to regulate virtual currencies will take place on Monday afternoon before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Called "Beyond Silk Road: Potential Risks, Threats and Promises of Virtual Currencies," the hearing comes six weeks after federal authorities took down the Silk Road, known as the "Amazon for drugs," and arrested its alleged founder, 29-year-old Ross Ulbricht. (It also comes less than a month after TIME's cover story, "The Secret Web," which explored these issues.) Though the session promises to look at all virtual currencies, it will primarily focus on bitcoin, the cryptocurrency used by the Silk Web, according to advance testimony given to TIME.