Bitcoin industry insiders believe continued US Government hostility will scare Bitcoin startups and entrepreneurs away from the US.

In separate but related actions, two US Government bodies have requested investigations into Bitcoin. The investigations, to be carried out separately by the FBI and the US Department for Homeland Security (DHS), are to focus on the issues of possibilities for money laundering and organized crime.

Given its decentralized, anonymous, and basically unregulated nature, Bitcoin provides the opportunity to move large amounts of money around the world, without leaving a trace and without the knowledge of the world’s financial regulators.

The US Senate committee on homeland security, in a letter posted on their website, directed DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano to provide a report by the end of August. Separately, a House of Representatives Commerce, Justice and Science bill directs the FBI to provide a briefing within 120 days on the subject of Bitcoins and money laundering.

As pointed out by CNBC, actions such as these are likely to force Bitcoin related startups and entrepreneurs to ‘seek out more acceptable international jurisdictions’ outside the US. Bitcoin startups are generating a lot of jobs and attracting a lot of capital lately, and the US might miss out on a lot of that if the US Government somehow strangles use of the currency.

As we’ve reported, Bitcoin trading has slowly been gaining popularity in the Forex and Binary options world. The latest firm to offer Bitcoin trading is AvaTrade, following in the footsteps of CFD broker Plus500.

For more on the global Forex industry see the LeapRate-Dow Jones Forex Industry Report.