Silk Road was an online underground black market for selling drugs and other illegal services that was shut down by the FBI earlier this month. Their differentiating factor was their ability to provide a platform where transactions could be made completely anonymously using a unique method of digital payment called the Bitcoin. Before being shut down, Silk Road facilitated the movement of more than 9.5 million Bitcoins, equivalent to $1.2 billion at the time of the shut down. With the success of this digital currency that is now without a governing center, several federal agencies in Washington are considering ways to capitalize on the opportunity.
With the closure of Silk Road, there is potential to regulate the Bitcoin and legitimize it so users can continue to use the currency. Seeing as most of its users were previously active in the illegal Silk Road community, is it the right call for the United States government to keep the Bitcoin alive?
Picture: The Bitcoin