--- description: The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau released a report Monday that shows all the potential problems with virtual currencies. title: Why Bitcoins could put your finances at risk image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2655c12c07e8caa1/69869f4655a859dc93a82231/149637088.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How Bitcoins Could Put Your Finances at Risk by [TIME Video](/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 12, 2014 6:44 PM CUT  Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray testifies before the House Small Business Committee August 1, 2012 in Washington, DC. The committee held a hearing on the topic of "Know Before You Regulate: The Impact of CFPB Regulations on Small Business." Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray testifies before the House Small Business Committee August 1, 2012 in Washington, DC. The committee held a hearing on the topic of "Know Before You Regulate: The Impact of CFPB Regulations on Small Business."Win McNamee/Getty Images by [TIME Video](/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 12, 2014 6:44 PM CUT The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau released a report Monday concluding that virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, offer less protection than regular currencies and can be vulnerable to outrageous mark-ups, online scams and hackers. In addition to publishing the report, the bureau has also added a virtual currency section to their complaint page where people who have run into problems with Bitcoin or other similar currencies can register their issues. According to Bitcoin.com, there are more than 13 million units of virtual currency around the world. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3104130/bitcoin-cfpb-virtual-currency/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3104130/bitcoin-cfpb-virtual-currency/"},"headline":"How Bitcoins Could Put Your Finances at Risk","datePublished":"2014-08-12T18:44:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:02:56.897Z","description":"Virtual currencies could cause you to lose \"real\" money, according to a new report","url":"https://time.com/3104130/bitcoin-cfpb-virtual-currency/","keywords":["Tech","Money","Bitcoin","finance","CFPB"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2655c12c07e8caa1/69869f4655a859dc93a82231/149637088.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Video","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-video/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2655c12c07e8caa1/69869f4655a859dc93a82231/149637088.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray testifies before the House Small Business Committee August 1, 2012 in Washington, DC. The committee held a hearing on the topic of \"Know Before You Regulate: The Impact of CFPB Regulations on","caption":"Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray testifies before the House Small Business Committee August 1, 2012 in Washington, DC. The committee held a hearing on the topic of \"Know Before You Regulate: The Impact of CFPB Regulations on","creditText":"Win McNamee/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3104130/bitcoin-cfpb-virtual-currency/","name":"How Bitcoins Could Put Your Finances at Risk"}}]}] ```