A week after President Trump publicly lashed out on Bitcoin and its subsequent rival Libra, it is now the Treasury Secretary’s turn to express his disapproval.
Steven Mnuchin, currently serving in Trump’s Cabinet, held an unanticipated press conference from White House to speak about the alarming threats that come with the acceptance of virtual currencies.
The US government is hellbent on its stance against the adoption of cryptocurrencies or any services related to it.
He remarked that besides their vulnerability to money laundering, they can also serve as a means of financing terrorist groups, given the degree of autonomy.
Emphasizes on US dollar’s strength
Joining a series of politicians who have already berated the digital assets and their potential implications on the society, Mnuchin went on to affirm that the US government has only one objective ahead, and that is to stabilize the financial markets.
Even though Bitcoin’s speculated global value adds to a monumental figure of forty billion dollars ($40 billion), the Secretary claims that a major portion of it is driven by emotions and thus, unsustainable. Needless to mention, when the crypto markets plunge, people will lose money and have no one to turn to.
In a bid to shed light on the US government’s standpoint, Steven Mnuchin clarified that the nation will not accept any currency that undervalues the US dollar.
To conform to regulations will be near to impossible
Being unregulated, cryptocurrencies can sabotage the world markets. As a result, Mnuchin added that for Facebook to receive global recognition, it must comply with all the required regulations of the central bank, much like any other currency.
In what seemed like the last nail in the coffin, the Secretary of Treasury declared that for Bitcoins or Facebook’s Libra to come to terms with a highly complex regulatory framework and abide by the fine terms and conditions that come with it, is an insurmountable task as the cryptocurrency industry experts do not have the essential expertise to understand and meet the guidelines.
Mnuchin reasserted that Bitcoin’s imminent death is only a matter of time before the federal government quashes its validation through stringent regulations.
