ABC spokesman Sandy Culkoff confirmed a serious misconduct case was under way after an insider yesterday tipped off the Crikey website that a worker at ABC Innovation sought to use ABC's vast audience and internal systems to mine for Bitcoins.

Bitcoins are a virtual currency that has gained notoriety after it was used by online drug dealers.

According to the insider, the IT staffer installed a Bitcoin miner on ABC's servers. The program uses idle computer processing power to generate Bitcoins, which can be exchanged for cash.

Several ABC Innovation executives contacted by The Age, including its head of technology, would not comment but did not deny the allegations of Bitcoin mining.

The ABC has also refused to comment on the possibility of other unauthorised programs installed on its servers without its knowledge.

Created in 2009 by a Japanese programmer, Bitcoins are the first serious attempt at creating an untraceable and uncontrolled global currency. The real-world value of the currency soared to $17 in recent months and then crashed to $US0.01 after online exchanges trading Bitcoins were hacked.

The Bitcoin economy, before the crash, was worth almost $US200 million.

To obtain bitcoins, users can go through the slow process of ''mining'' them using idle computer processing power. Batches of intensive calculations are carried out on millions of PCs across the world.

Bitcoins can also be bought through exchanges with real cash or by exchanging other virtual currencies like World of Warcraft ''gold''. The anonymity of the encrypted BitCoin system has made it attractive to criminals.

The Silk Road website, an eBay-style site for illicit drugs that connects buyers and sellers, uses Bitcoins as its payment system. Bitcoins have also been used by criminals to launder money, said Marc Goodman, who now runs his own consultancy, the Future Crimes Institute.

"If you were to look at all the money that was laundered in the world,, I would say maybe 1 per cent of that are pure virtual currencies, said Goodman.

'' I think as we move towards more and more alternative currencies…that number will surely increase.''

Security consultant Nigel Phair said it would be very difficult for police to shut down sites like Silk Road and track Bitcoin transactions due to the encrypted nature of the system and the fact that servers are located outside Australian jurisdiction.