With bitcoin under pressure, more than 500 alternative cryptocurrencies are vying for acceptance, according to CoinMarketCap, a website that tracks virtual currencies. Many borrow and build on bitcoin technology and some are now trying to comply with existing regulations.

One called Ripple lets banks transfer money in seconds, without spending days to clear transactions. MaidSafeCoin allows people to pay to store files on other users’ hard drives, among other services.

Investors are bullish on the newer entrants. MaidSafeCoin has more than quadrupled in value since its April debut, according to CoinMarketCap. Ripple has gained 36 percent this year; eventually it could displace bitcoin, Reinelt said.

‘Muddled Message’

“There’s a bit of a muddled message with bitcoin,” said Chris Larsen, who runs Ripple Labs. “There are some players who want it to be anonymous, some that want it to be compliant. We don’t like the anonymous aspects. We are compliant from Day One. We constructed it to go in the opposite direction.”

Steven Englander, managing director at Citigroup Global Markets Inc., said building new currency systems from the ground up using parts of bitcoin technology may make more sense than trying to modify bitcoin so it adheres to requirements likely to be imposed by financial regulators.

“Over time, I think other alternatives will emerge,” he said. “It won’t be one coin fits all -- it will be a basket of characteristics.”

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