U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen cautiously laid out the fundamentals of cryptocurrency policy. While Yellen has been cautious about calls for specific policies, she has been careful to position Bitcoin, SHIB and other altcoins within historical examples of risk in finance.
US Treasury sets vision for Bitcoin and altcoins
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen gave a speech today on digital assets, the first of its kind during her tenure. The speech was an early response to President Joe Biden’s executive order in March, urging agencies to coordinate efforts on Bitcoin and altcoin policy. In this respect, it can be called the first of its kind from any institution.
Janet Yellen’s speech was without a hitch. Indeed, care seemed to be taken not to alarm stakeholders in the cryptocurrency industry. Instead, he carefully framed his predictions for regulations regarding cryptocurrencies and historical parallels.
Referring to Alexander Hamilton and the private notes that accelerated the National Banking Act under Lincoln, Yellen said, “A crisis has accelerated reform.” What does this mean in the context of cryptocurrencies? As others in the administration have suggested (most notably SEC Chairman Gary Gensler), cryptocurrencies and the firms that handle them largely fall into existing legal categories. Yellen said:
Digital assets may be new, but many of the problems they present are not. We have enjoyed the benefits of innovation in the past and have encountered some unintended consequences. The principle of technology neutrality also applies to tax evasion, illegal financing and national security concerns that are particularly relevant in today’s world. It is illegal to evade taxes, launder money, or evade sanctions. It doesn’t matter whether you use checks, money orders or cryptocurrencies.
Despite this, Yellen maintained the President’s Working Group stance for new legislation when it comes to stablecoins. However, she did not openly support PWG’s original move to restrict stablecoin issuance to insured depository institutions, she said.
Treasury in general and Yellen in particular had a busy week
Janet Yellen on Wednesday to testify on the state of international finance, a speech focused on Treasury’s sanctions against Russia, to the House Financial Services Committee He appeared in front of As we mentioned in the news of Kriptokoin.com, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on the Russian-based darknet market Hydra and its related crypto exchange Garantex the day before. It was an act that Yellen talked about in her later speeches.
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