In a survey published on December 19th, many academic economists maintain that Bitcoin is not a threat to the financial stability of the European economic union. However, the EU itself last week reacted to public trading of cryptocurrencies with an agreement to crack down on the opportunities for money laundering and terrorist activity that they believe are engendered on cryptocurrency exchange platforms.

Highlighted by the increased exposure arising from the launch of Bitcoin on Chicago’s futures markets, some commentators believe that the EU is, typically, acting to protect the banking institutions rather than the consumers. It\'s being seen as an instinctive reaction against the introduction of new technology which they perceive as a threat to the status quo.

European Commissioner, VÄ›ra Jourová, is calling vociferously for stricter controls and more \'transparency\' in regulating cryptocurrency trading. However, former MI5 Intelligence officer Annie Machon suggests that this is a thinly veiled excuse to shift the blame onto cryptocurrencies, as a convenient scapegoat for the many existing illegal financial activities being perpetrated through the banking system. Any attempt by new model practices that decentralises control is bound to provoke a conservative reaction from the establishment, Machon comments, and cryptocurrency trading is no exception.