Despite the criminal case, bitcoin seems to be gaining legitimacy in the eyes of federal officials. There were not one but two Congressional hearings on bitcoin this week. And an official from the Justice Department said that "virtual currencies in and of themselves are not illegal, we've all recognized that innovation is important."First of all, despite always means because. In this case "despite the criminal case against SilkRoad..." means "because SilkRoad was a sting operation...."
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