NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The New York State Department of Financial Services said Friday it will hold a two-day public hearing on virtual-currency regulation beginning Jan. 28 in New York. The hearing will cover a potential license for virtual currencies such as bitcoin, termed a "BitLicense." The issue of how to regulate virtual currencies has become of interest to governments across the world as bitcoin's price has surged from $13 to above $1,000 in the last year, with major investments flowing into some bitcoin-related companies. The regulator announced the potential license in November and issued subpoenas to several bitcoin-related companies in August.