Sir Richard Branson

Sir Richard Branson, head honcho of Virgin Group, might be under fire for the Virgin SpaceShipTwo accident last Friday, but that hasn’t stopped him from pursuing other interests.

Branson’s Virgin SpaceShipTwo aircraft broke apart just seconds after its rocket engine ignited during last week’s test. The incident killed co-pilot Michael Alsbury, while pilot Peter Siebold was able to parachute to safety.

The incident is still being investigated, but Branson is spinning this negative publicity by talking about something that’s equally controversial – Bitcoin.

In an op-ed for Bitcoin lobby group Australian Digital Currency Commerce Association, Branson called for tougher regulations and taxation of the cryptocurrency. He sees Bitcoin as something that gives power to the people, but says it needs to be regulated for more people to benefit from it.

“Making sure that conversations around this are happening at the highest level will hopefully result in common-sense reforms to areas such as taxation and law enforcement, which will be of real benefit to all concerned. It’s crucial that everyone has an understanding and access to enable it [digital currencies] to work for them.”

Senator Sam Dastyari, who’s leading a Senate inquiry regarding Bitcoin, said he’ll ask Branson to appear at the committee which includes 74 different organizations.

Branson is an active supporter of tech innovations and has been aggressively investing in Bitcoin himself, funnelling close to $30 million into various Bitcoin-related ventures.

“It feels strange to think of a world without cash, no more coins or notes for us to find down the back of the sofa, but it appears that’s the way things are heading,”

“Through making investments in the likes of Square and Blockchain, I hope to be a part of what could be a democratisation that helps to put more power and control back into the hands of the everyday citizen.”

Some Bitcoin services might benefit from a stable regulatory environment to maintain legitimacy, but there is also a large camp of enthusiasts who believe Bitcoin is working just fine without any government rules and regulations.

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