Reserve currency before the beginning of the worldwide credit crunch related recession and Eurozone crisis, which harmed the euro and slowed its adoption. Since 2009, the reserve currency use of the euro has continued to drop, down to 23.9 percent in 2013. The Dutch guilder was the "de facto" reserve currency in Europe in 17th and 18th centuries. The United Kingdom's pound sterling was the primary reserve currency of much of the world in the 19th century and first half of the 20th century. The emergence of the USA as an economic superpower, and the establishment of the U.S. Federal Reserve System
Virtual currency law in the United States must register as a Money Services Business (MSB). The purpose of this legislation was to prevent financial exchanges from being used to launder money or finance crime, including terrorism. The European Central Bank has also recommended registering exchanges to "reduce the incentive for terrorists, criminals and money launderers to make use of these virtual currency schemes for illegal purposes". In spite of the BSA applying to VC exchanges and administrators, VC is still used to finance crime and launder money because not every transaction in VC networks are required to comply with the BSA and not every online exchange complies