Bitcoin fund

Sensing that it needs a voice in Washington,Falcon Global Capital,a San Diego-based Bitcoin fund,filed lobbying registration paperwork last week.

And Falcon isn't sending just anybody,either. According to the filing,the Bitcoin fund's lobbyist will be company Chief Executive Officer Brett Stapper.

"Our objectives at this point are very simple. In our discussions and debates we have realized that those who oppose Bitcoin don't really oppose it,they simply don't understand it. Our main concern is that our elected officials will pass regulations without being fully educated on the topic which could have a negative impact on the Bitcoin ecosystem, " Stapper told Business Insider.

Falcon Global Capital launched in March and invests entirely in Bitcoin. It functions like a gold hedge fund,purchasing and storing bitcoins ranging in value from $25, 000 to $10, 000, 000 on behalf of investors.

For now,however,the Falcon Bitcoin fund is only open to accredited investors (an individual with at least $1 million in assets or net income of $200, 000 a year),much like SecondMarket's Bitcoin fund,the Bitcoin Investment Trust.

It's a fledgling business,and Stapper is going to Washington in part to head off any misguided regulations.

"My business is Bitcoin and we're the first investment bank to work solely in virtual currencies,so I'm very pro-Bitcoin, " Stapper told Bank Innovation. "I was very disturbed to see no one has done this yet and I felt like hopefully if we start,that others will come and help."

While Falcon is the first Bitcoin-based company to seek a lobbyist on Capitol Hill,it won't have the first Bitcoin lobbyist there. Last month,Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) said it would be enlisting five staffers from the lobbying firm Peck Madigan Jones to focus on legislative issues concerning Bitcoin.

The Mastercard lobbyists aren't likely to be advocating for Bitcoin,however,as Stapper intends to do.

And while Mastercard has said its lobbyists will focus on "gathering information, " Stapper isn't so sure.

Falcon Bitcoin Fund Taking No Chances in Washington

Still,Stapper said he remains optimistic that Mastercard and other legacy payment companies will realize the digital currency's potential.

"Hopefully MasterCard will adopt it. Yes [they're competitors as a transaction service] but that's how innovative companies continue to grow - they can adopt or they cannot, " Stapper told Bank Innovation. "Back in the day,the horse-and-buggy operators opposed automobiles and we know how that ended up. Similarly,you see Western Union,a company that has continued to embrace innovation,and they continue to prosper."

And apart from thwarting any possible pushback from those entities that might oppose Bitcoin - and by extension,his Bitcoin fund - Stapper wants to make sure that government regulators have a clear understanding of the digital currency.