Sir Richard Branson has voiced his support for bitcoin ahead of the Global Digital Currency Conversation (GDCC) forum in Brisbane, Australia, this Sunday.

The GDCC is due to coincide with this year's G20 Summit on 16th–17th November, at the close of the G20 event. Organisers say it aims to facilitate discussion and "formalise a global agreement on digital currencies" before Turkey's G20 conference in 2015.

Branson, a prominent bitcoin advocate, first announced his support for the Australian Digital Currency Commerce Association (ADCCA), the industry group behind the conference, late last month.

Through his Virgin.com blog post, titled How Digital Currency Could Transform the World, Branson maintains a neutral stance on bitcoin regulation.

He praises the ADCCA and its chairman Ron Tucker for their work on the regulatory front, pointing out that there is still work to be done on the thorny issue of 'best practice' regulations.

While some bitcoin proponents argue in favour of a self-regulatory model, there are also a number of arguments in favour of a “centrally governed rulebook”, he says.

Branson also explains how he thinks bitcoin could disrupt and improve traditional payment platforms:

He concludes that the technology has the potential to lower costs and increase convenience, while the G20 Summit offers a “great opportunity to keep the conversation around digital currencies going”.

“Making sure that conversations around this are happening at the highest level will hopefully result in common sense reforms to areas such as taxation and law enforcement, which will be of real benefit to all concerned.”

The entrepreneur also elabourated on why he decided to back several companies involved in the digital currency space:

He added that he hopes to become a part of the financial “democratisation” by investing in companies like Square and Blockchain. Bitcoin payment processor BitPay also received funding from Branson earlier this year.

The Virgin Group founder has come out in favour of bitcoin on several occasions, most recently in an interview with Bloomberg.

While there is a desire for more control, freedom and scrutiny over what happens with people’s money, Branson warns that bitcoin is not without its foibles:

Richard Branson image via Prometheus72 / Shutterstock