This article comes fromCoinDesk, original author: Nikhilesh De
Odaily translator |
This article comes from
, original author: Nikhilesh De
Odaily translator |
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has chosen to side with U.S. President Donald Trump — and he also believes cryptocurrencies are for scammers.
At a news conference on Monday, Mnuchin expressed the Trump administrations concerns about cryptocurrencies such as Facebooks Libra and bitcoin. Shortly after Mnuchins statement, the U.S. Congress will hold two hearings this week, when Facebooks blockchain head David Marcus will testify before members of both houses of the Senate and House of Representatives.
President Donald J. Trump tweeted three times last week about cryptocurrencies and Libra: I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, they are not currencies and their value is highly volatile and out of thin air. Unregulated cryptoassets can facilitate illicit behavior, including drug dealing and other illicit activities. Likewise, Facebook’s Libra “virtual currency” has little stature or credibility. If Facebook and others Companies wanting to be a bank they have to seek new bank charters and comply with banking regulations like all banks, whether they are in the US or overseas. There is only one real currency in the US and that currency is stronger than ever , more reliable and credible. It is by far the most dominant currency in the world, and it will always remain so - its called the dollar!
While Mnuchin did not make any new policy statements on Monday, he reiterated past statements made by various government entities, one of the main concerns being the potential for cryptocurrencies to be used by criminals.
Libra may be abused by money launderers and terrorist financing. Mnuchin cited money laundering, terrorist financing, extortion, human trafficking, drug trafficking and tax evasion as examples to illustrate that cryptocurrencies and Libra may facilitate crime. He added: This is really a national security issue. (As a result) the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) will investigate Libra and Bitcoin and will apply the highest standards to any entity engaging in either transaction.
Mnuchin also referred to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which last month issued guidance for its member governments on how to regulate cryptocurrency service providers. The FATF guidelines specifically recommend implementing the so-called “Travel Rule,” requiring exchanges and wallet providers to hold KYC (know your customer) information on both sides of every transaction.
After Mnuchin’s remarks, Coin Center research director Peter Van Valkenburgh emphasized that the Treasury Department, which Mnuchin oversees, has provided insight into how crypto custodians are complying with the Bank Secrecy Act and how they are trying to stay within the new FATF regulations. Under Output its policy provides guidance.
As Mnuchin said: We will do everything we can to ensure that effective regulation is not limited to the United States.
| How to view Libra
During the half-hour press conference, Mnuchin repeatedly mentioned Libra, the cryptocurrency project Facebook launched the previous month. Representatives of the social media giant have met with Treasury Department officials, as well as other government agencies, he said.
Logically speaking, as long as Facebook can maintain strict anti-money laundering standards, there should be no problem with the launch of Libra, but Mnuchin has said several times that Facebook still has a lot of work to do before it is sure that it is compliant, and bluntly stated that he is very concerned about Libra. Launching at this time feels discomfort.
