US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has admitted that cryptocurrencies have advantages. Crypto has grown by leaps and bounds and is now playing “a significant role” in many Americans’ investment decisions, Yellen said, adding that the Treasury Department is working on regulatory recommendations for healthy innovation.
Treasury Secretary Yellen sees benefits of crypto
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke about cryptocurrencies in an interview with CNBC on Friday. She was asked about cryptocurrency as Russia has announced that it will accept bitcoin as payment for energy resources.
Yellen replied:
Crypto has obviously grown by leaps and bounds and is now playing a significant role, not really so much in transactions as in the investment decisions of many Americans.
She went on to explain that President Joe Biden’s executive order mandates the Treasury Department and other federal agencies to “think about regulating crypto.”
When asked if she is still skeptical about crypto, the Treasury Secretary commented, “I’m a bit skeptical because I think there are legitimate concerns. Some have to do with financial stability, consumer-investor protection, use for illegal transactions, and other things.” She added:
On the other hand, there are advantages to crypto and we recognize that innovation in the payment system can be a healthy thing.
“We would like to eventually come out with recommendations that create a regulatory environment,” she said.
Earlier this month, Yellen announced that the Treasury Department will monitor crypto to see if it is being used to circumvent sanctions by Russian individuals and entities. “We will continue to look at how the sanctions are working and assess whether or not there are any leaks and we have the opportunity to address them,” she said.
However, a senior official at the department later said that the Treasury Department does not see crypto being used extensively to evade sanctions.
What do you think of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below.
Kevin Helms
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