The European Banking Authority (EBA) is planning to establish a new cross-sectoral taskforce in the first half of 2014, with an aim to seek whether virtual currencies can and ought to be regulated.
The proposed taskforce will identify the risks for consumers of using virtual currencies as a means of payment.
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Additionally, the taskforce will identify risks that may arise for regulators in achieving their anti-money laundering objectives.
This will also consider the consumer risks caused from using virtual currencies for speculative purposes or from buying investment products that are based on virtual currencies, such as ETFs using Bitcoins as an underlying asset.
The taskforce will also review the burdens caused in the society by the use of virtual currencies for criminal purposes.
According to EBA, the use of Bitcoins has spread rapidly in 2013 alone, with the number of users increased from 45,000 to more than 400,000.
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