US Treasury Secretary: Cryptocurrencies are Dominated by Illicit Activities

“I think to a large extent, these cryptocurrencies have been dominated by illicit activities and speculation.” The United States Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said at a press conference on 15 July.

“As the President has stated that Bitcoin is highly volatile and based on thin air. Treasury takes the role of the U.S. dollar very seriously as the world’s reserve currency.” Mnuchin shared the same view with Donald Trump according to Trump's latest Tweet on cryptocurrencies.

Mnuchin further elaborated on cryptocurrencies as a medium to fund illicit activities. He also added, “cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have been exploited to support billions of dollars of illicit activities, such as cybercrimes, tax evasion, extortion, ransomware, illicit drugs, and human trafficking. This is indeed a national security issue.”

Mnuchin stressed the importance of compliance in the press conference. He stated that digital financial service users should comply with the combating the financing of terrorism and anti-money laundering policies applicable to traditional banks. In addition, Mnuchin said crypto transmitters must register with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and comply with the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).

The Finance Minister of the United Kingdom, Philip Hammond told CNBC during an interview that the British government will engage with Libra and will not try to interfere. Philip remarked lawmakers should not intervene the regulatory process for Libra and added, “that is an issue for the regulators. We have an independent regulatory system as you do and that is essentially an issue for the regulators to determine, not for politicians to determine.”

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