US regulator says bitcoin currently not a threat to banking system

WASHINGTON: Bitcoin currently does not pose a threat to the stability of the US banking system because lenders have mostly steered clear of taking positions in the virtual currency, a top US banking regulator said on Wednesday.

Speaking during his first formal press briefing since being sworn in to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) last month, Joseph Otting told reporters the regulator had recently conducted an informal poll of banks to gauge their exposure to bitcoin.

"Maybe they have traces of it in some investment, but mostly the banks have stayed away from the currency...It doesn't seem to have come into the banking system."