Coindesk Logo

US Finance Regulators Form Crypto Working Group, Says Mnuchin

US Finance Regulators Form Crypto Working Group, Says Mnuchin

US Finance Regulators Form Crypto Working Group, Says Mnuchin

Steven Mnuchin said on Friday that the Financial Stability Oversight Council has formed a working group focused on cryptocurrencies.

Steven Mnuchin said on Friday that the Financial Stability Oversight Council has formed a working group focused on cryptocurrencies.

Steven Mnuchin said on Friday that the Financial Stability Oversight Council has formed a working group focused on cryptocurrencies.

AccessTimeIconJan 12, 2018, 4:20 PM
Updated Aug 18, 2021, 7:54 PM

Presented By Icon

Election 2024 coverage presented by

Stand with crypto

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday that the Financial Stability Oversight Council, a government body that assesses financial system risks, has formed a working group focused on cryptocurrencies.

Mnuchin remarked on the process during an appearance at The Economic Club in Washington, D.C. after being asked about the topic of bitcoin.

"We are very focused on cryptocurrencies," Mnuchin explained, pointing to discussions with other regulators within the U.S. government and later stating: "We want to make sure that bad people cannot use these currencies to do bad things."

Mnuchin added that the issue was one that the U.S. government would engage with the G-20 international group as well. As previously reported, Mnuchin's French counterpart called for more action from the G-20 in December, highlighting "a risk of speculation" at the time.

On that subject of speculation, Mnuchin said that he is concerned about the issue as well.

"I want to make sure that consumers who are trading this understand the risks because I am concerned that consumers could get hurt."

During the remarks, Mnuchin also suggested that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to develop its own digital version of fiat currency – a topic under discussion at a number of central banks worldwide – in the near future.

"The Fed and we don't think there's a need for that at this point," Mnuchin said.

See below for a recording of Mnuchin's remarks (with the relevant section beginning at 4:55). 

Image via Shutterstock

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information have been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.