Virtual currency Bitcoin is "experimental" and remains "high risk" for most consumers, the Bitcoin Foundation's general counsel told a Senate committee in a hearing Monday on the emerging technology.

Lawmakers are bedeviled by a technology whose growing popularity has raised questions about whether or how it should be regulated, said Homeland Security Committee Chairman Tom Carper, D-Del.

"Virtual currencies, perhaps most notably Bitcoin, have captured the imagination of some, struck fear among others and confused the heck out of many of us," Carper said. "Fundamental questions remain about what a virtual currency actually is, how it should be treated and what the future holds."

Protecting consumers remains problematic for Bitcoin and other decentralized virtual currencies, said Patrick Murck, general counsel for the Bitcoin Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes the virtual currency and its technology.

"This is a high-risk environment, and potentially it's not quite ready for mass consumer adoption," Murck said.

Officials at the Justice and Treasury departments have recognized Bitcoin and other virtual currencies as legitimate and financially viable. Bitcoin's popularity and value have soared, topping $650 for a single Bitcoin on Monday.