Mrs. Janet Yellen has made a follow-up comment about cryptocurrencies since the previous one in her recent confirmation hearing. In what seems like a contrary statement, the Treasury secretary nominee is now asserting the potential of digital currencies.
The senate committee on finance proposed the question which reads; “Dr. Yellen, what do you view as the potential threats and benefits these innovations and technologies will have on U.S. national security? Do you think more needs to be done to ensure we have appropriate safeguards and regulations for digital and cryptocurrencies in place?” Yellen responded, saying “I think it important we consider the benefits of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, and the potential they have to improve the efficiency of the financial system.”
She further emphasized the importance of advancing the legitimate use cases for Bitcoin and developing a regulatory framework that facilitates this. In her words;
“I think we need to look closely at how to encourage their use for legitimate activities while curtailing their use for malign and illegal activities. If confirmed, I intend to work closely with the Federal Reserve Board and the other federal banking and securities regulators on how to implement an effective regulatory framework for these and other fintech innovations.”
Mrs. Janet Yellen, President Joe Biden’s secretary treasury nominee had been in the news for her recent comments about cryptocurrencies. When asked on Tuesday by the Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan to “outline some of these emerging technological concerns and how Treasury should combat new forms of terrorism criminal financing?” Yellen can be quoted saying that “cryptocurrencies are of particular concern” in her Senate confirmation hearing on the 19th of January. Although in Yellen’s defense, only five minutes were allocated for questions and answers concerning cryptocurrencies. Parts of the comment which read “we really need to examine ways in which we can curtail their use” was a direct response to the use of cryptocurrencies for malicious purposes only.
Yellen’s concerns for cryptocurrencies are valid in this context, as cryptocurrency theft continues to dampen the speed at which global adoption could be attained for digital assets. Over the years, crypto-theft has plagued the industry and warranted concerns for the future of digital assets.
The dark web has also seen an upsurge in the use of cryptocurrency as a payment method. Cryptocurrencies have been the go-to for scammers, largely because of their decentralized nature. This may be a difficult problem to curtail as stolen cryptocurrencies are usually sent to mixers, to help maintain the animosity. Many times, stolen funds are hardly ever retrieved.