UK government asks bitcoin community for cryptocurrency advice and Circle releases platform as app(IBTimes UK)

Bitcoin has continued its recent downward trend by falling in price by a further 1.5% over the last 24 hours.

All other major cryptocurrencies have also seen negative movement since yesterday, with litecoin, dogecoin, peercoin, namecoin and darkcoin all falling by between 1% and 5%.

The biggest mover across all markets was pesetacoin, the unofficial national cryptocurrency of Spain. A 40% rise in value pushed its market capitalisation back up towards $50,000 for the first time since September.

The Treasury is requesting information and advice from those within the bitcoin community in order to understand how best to regulate cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin advocates from fintech (financial technology) firms, together with law enforcement agencies and financial regulators, will be approached by the government in the hope that better regulation will improve the UK's fintech sector.

"Digital currencies and digital currency exchanges are currently unregulated in the UK," said a Treasury spokesman. "We're considering the potential benefits of digital currencies to customers and the technology that underpins them, and whether we should take action to support innovation in this area.

"We're also looking at the potential risks, and assessing whether action is required to address any concerns."

Bitcoin-to-fiat currency exchange Circle has launched its own mobile app for iOS and Android platforms.

The integration of credit card payments into the app will allow users to withdraw and deposit money into their bitcoin wallets, while Touch ID compatibility with iOS devices will add a level of biometric security.

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Cryptocurrency Round-Up: Treasury Seeks Advice on Bitcoin and Circle Launches App