Nov. 18 (UPI) -- The controversial bitcoin virtual currency rose to $619 Monday, more than 25 percent higher than on Sunday on the Mt. Gox exchange. Increased bitcoin confidence came from regulators coming to terms with the currency, despite concerns of market risk and cybersecurity.
Prior to the first of a series of hearings on Monday at 3:00 p.m. in Washington, the bitcoin community sent letters to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs regarding the safety of the currency.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke wrote in a letter that while bitcoin might pose challenges for regulators and law enforcement, it also holds "long-term promise, particularly if the innovations promote a faster, more secure, and more efficient payment system."
And while bitcoins might be out of the Federal Reserve's jurisdiction, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Jo White said in a letter that bitcoins would be traded just as any other security, and likely within the SEC's jurisdiction.
The heightened concern with bitcoin tracking comes from the FBI's takeover of Silk Road in October, a Deep Web black marketplace where drugs and guns were illegally traded to the amount of $1.2 billion in bitcoin transactions.
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