Despite the ECB's recent attempt to "discourage" EU financial institutions from trading or holding virtual currencies, the UK Chancellor has explained that the UK will conduct its own investigation into the potential for virtual currencies, like Bitcoin, to encourage innovation in the financial sector, while also considering the risks and how best to mitigate them.
This perfectly illustrates the common law adage that 'the law must follow commerce', as opposed to the civil law view that the State should first prescribe whether and how business should be done - a distinction that Eurocrats really need to understand. As George Osborne noted:
"it is only by harnessing innovations in finance, alongside our existing world class knowledge and skills in financial services, that we'll ensure Britain's financial sector continues to meet the diverse needs of businesses and consumers here and around the globe".
