Paris was attacked by terrorists. G7 wants to strengthen the regulation of virtual currencies

Sina US Stocks News: Reuters reported on the morning of the 19th Beijing time that Germany's Der Spiegel magazine reported on Wednesday that the Group of Seven (G7) plans to strengthen supervision of digital currencies such as Bitcoin , suspecting that the Islamic State is using Bitcoin to secretly transfer funds.

Der Spiegel said G7 finance ministers, shocked by last week's Paris attacks, discussed regulation of fintech companies at an informal meeting on Monday during the G20 summit in Turkey.

The German Finance Ministry declined to comment on the news, saying the G7 ministerial meeting was confidential.

Financial services that provide digital or "virtual" currencies such as Bitcoin are software-based and often operate across national borders, out of reach of security agencies.

Existing only in digital form, bitcoin can be used to move money around the world quickly and anonymously without third-party verification, making it attractive to a wide range of users, from drug dealers to people trying to circumvent capital controls in countries such as Greece and China.

The European Commission has proposed plans to improve regulation of the sector.

A paper published on Tuesday included a chapter on measures to prevent terrorist financing, saying "the use of virtual currencies will receive particular attention."