U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reaffirmed that it is important to ensure that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are not used for illicit financing. In addition, she highlights the importance of regulating institutions that deal with bitcoin.
Janet Yellen says it is important to ensure that bitcoin is not used for illicit financing
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen answered some questions about bitcoin and cryptocurrency regulation in an interview with CNBC on Thursday.
Yellen said he considers bitcoin a “highly speculative asset”, emphasizing its high levels of volatility in recent years. Answering a question about whether bitcoin and cryptocurrencies need to be regulated, the Treasury Secretary said:
I think it is important to make sure that it is not used as a vehicle for illicit transactions and that there is investor protection. And so, regulating institutions that trade with bitcoin, making sure that they fulfill their regulatory responsibilities, I think certainly important.
Bitcoin’s price hit a historic record again on Friday, pushing its market capitalization to more than $ 1 trillion. At the time of this writing, the price of BTC was $ 54,757.
This is not the first time that Yellen has talked about cryptocurrencies that fuel illicit transactions. At her Senate confirmation hearing in January, she said: “Cryptocurrencies are a particular concern. I think many are used … mainly for illicit financing. ”She later clarified her position and promised to work with other federal regulators to implement“ effective ”encryption regulations. Then, last week, she said that the misuse of cryptocurrencies “is a growing problem”, reiterating that they “have been used to launder the profits of online drug dealers” and “a tool to finance terrorism”.
Commenting on Yellen’s comments on bitcoin on Thursday, Rich Dad, Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki wrote:
Treasury Secretary Yellen just said on CNBC that bitcoin is used in criminal activities. Give me some time. And the US dollar is not. Who can believe these academic elites? Do they think we are so naive? Definitely buy more gold, silver, bitcoin.
An increasing number of large corporations have adopted bitcoin. The cryptocurrency recently got a big boost when Elon Musk’s electric car company, Tesla, revealed that it had purchased $ 1.5 billion in BTC and will soon accept the cryptocurrency as a means of payment for its products. Mastercard also announced that it will allow certain cryptocurrencies on its network, and the country’s oldest bank, BNY Mellon, has unveiled a cryptography unit to provide bitcoin services. In addition, the American city of Miami is trying to become a bitcoin center.
Meanwhile, Wyoming’s North American pro-bitcoin senator, Cynthia Lummis, has a mission to convince Yellen that bitcoin is a huge store of value. Lummis said he met with Yellen and believes he has an open mind on the matter. However, the senator still believes it will take a while to convince the Secretary of Finance.
What do you think of Yellen’s bitcoin observations? Let us know in the comments section below.
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