Member states of a Commonwealth Virtual Currencies Working Group including Tonga, reached a consensus to consider adapting or enacting new legislation to regulate virtual currencies, in London last week.

The Working Group also includes Australia, Barbados, Kenya, Nigeria, and Singapore, together with the International Monentary Fund (IMF) and World Bank met for the first time on August 24-26.

The group's consensus was for members states to consider the applicability of their existing legal frameworks to virtual currencies and where appropriate they should consider adapting them or enacting new legislation to regulate virtual currencies.

Bitcoin Magazine reported the group had recognized the benefits and disruptive nature of bitcoin and other digital currencies in the financial sector.

Tonga’s Acting Attorney General ‘Aminiasi Kefu said from Tonga’s perspective virtual currencies are a phenomena that has already arrived.

“Today real estate, buildings and businesses held or owned by individuals resident in Tonga are being advertised for sale on the internet for virtual currency, namely bitcoin,” he said.

Presentations from nine groups involved in virtual currencies including the UK Digital Currency Association BitPesa, Bitt, Bankymoon, Ripple Laps and Minku were also made to the working group.

Many experts and representatives explained to other member states that the decentralized nature of virtual currencies, especially bitcoin has been the solution to economic inequality and remittances worldwide.

Bankymoon CEO Lorien Gamaroff said of the importance of virtual currencies in severely under banked regions such as Africa.

"In Africa, around 80 percent of the population doesn't have access to banks and are mainly engaged in cash economy."

The working group's role is to explore the incidence of the virtual countries within the Commonwealth and report to member states on their prevalence and impact to develop technical guidance for members.