The Winklevoss Twins Will Headline New York State's Bitcoin Hearings

The Winklevoss Twins will headline the first of two days of hearings on digital currencies convened by the New York Department of Financial Services.

The twins' Bitcoin Trust, an ETF fund that would track the price of Bitcoin-related securities, is still under regulatory review.

Last April, the twins announced they owned $11-million worth of Bitcoin, when the price was $120. The price is now $950 on the Mt. Gox exchange meaning their holdings are now worth about $55 million.

The hearings will be more of a discussion about the role of digital currencies, similar to the ones that took place in the U.S. Senate in November, than a formal inquiry. DFS head Ben Lawsky has previously discussed creating special merchant licenses for New York businesses that rely on Bitcoin.

Here's where the hearing will take place:

90 Church Street
4th Floor Board Room
New York, NY

And the full lineup of speakers:

Panel 1 (11:30am - 1:30pm) - The Investor Perspective: The Future of Virtual Currencies

· Barry Silbert - Founder & CEO of SecondMarket and Founder of the Bitcoin Investment Trust
· Jeremy Liew - Partner, Lightspeed Venture Partners
· Fred Wilson - Partner, Union Square Ventures
· Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss - Principals, Winklevoss Capital Management

Panel 2 (2:30pm - 4:30pm) - Virtual Currencies and Regulation in an Evolving Landscape

· Charles Lee - Creator of Litecoin
· Judie Rinearson - Partner, Bryan Cave
· Carol Van Cleef - Partner, Patton Boggs
· TBD Additional Witnesses

Panel 1 (10:00am - 11:00am) - Law Enforcement and Virtual Currencies

· Cyrus R. Vance, Jr - District Attorney of New York County
· Richard B. Zabel - Deputy U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York

Panel 2 (11:30am - 1:30pm) - Virtual Currency Commerce and Consumer Protections

· Fred Ehrsam - Co-Founder, Coinbase
· Jeremy Allaire - Founder & CEO, Circle Internet Financial
· TBD Representative of Overstock.com

Panel 3 (2:30pm - 4:00pm) - The Academic View on Virtual Currencies

· Ed W. Felten - Professor of Computer Science and Public Affairs, and Director of the Center for Information Technology Policy, Princeton University
· Susan Athey - Professor of Economics, Stanford University