In the same way that the automobile was a big unknown in the days of horse-drawn carriages, cryptocurrencies are unknown in today’s world of cash, gold, and credit cards. But it would be a grave mistake for government regulators to overreach and delay this innovation from reaching its potential. Bitcoin BTCUSD, -3.24% prices tumbled last week after reports that South Korea would ban cryptocurrency trading — a threat that has since been calmed. But this trading scare underscores regulators’ reasonable concerns about cryptocurrencies. How do you report and audit taxes? There is potential for outright fraud. Uninformed investors may unwisely invest their life savings into currencies that will become worthless. Security breaches in the exchanges could lead to massive thefts of wealth from investors. Perhaps most disturbingly, there is a legitimate concern that criminals and terrorist groups are using anonymized exchanges to move capital.via