Digital global domestic money transaction values are exploding around the world, with a new market report forecasting the value of transactions will exceed US$3.5 trillion by 2024 - up from US$1.8 trillion in 2019.

The Democrat majority on the US House Financial Services Committee is proposing a bill that that would prevent big technology firms from operating as financial units or issuing digital currencies, a move that seems to be aimed at Facebook after the social media behemoth announced last month that it would be launching its own cryptocurrency in 2020.

Facebook’s announcement of its intention to launch a new virtual currency has prompted a warning from a Charles Sturt University expert that cryptocurrencies have a number of features that make them attractive to criminals.