Bitcoin could be as "big as the Internet" in reshaping the world and spurring economic growth, said a venture capitalist and well-known booster of the virtual currency. "Virtual currency, particularly bitcoin, reminds me so much of that time in the early '90s," said Fred Wilson, a partner at Union Square Ventures. "We are at beginning of an exciting time, not just for investors but for all of society." His comments came at a hearing Tuesday on the potential regulation of bitcoin. Conducted in lower Manhattan by New York state banking regulators, the hearing attracted other bitcoin enthusiasts, including Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

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Virtual currencies have "serious and documented dangers," said Benjamin M. Lawsky, superintendent of financial services for the state's Department of Financial Services, who led the panel discussion.

The participants (which included SecondMarket founder Barry Silbert, Lightspeed Ventures partner Jeremy Liew and the Winklevosses) agreed that there should be some regulation but argued that too much would stifle innovation. (Read more: EBay considering accepting bitcoin as payment) "While we need to regulate this kind of innovation, we need to do it in a way that does not reduce the amount of innovation," Wilson said. "We need to regulate at the edges of the system, but we should not regulate how the system itself operates." Bitcoin investors are betting that It will be a major disruptor in the financial payments industry and will prompt the creation of businesses using the currency's platform.