[NEWS] US Treasury Secretary Yellen calls for urgent federal regulation of cryptocurrencies

Treasury Secretary Janet Louise Yellen on the 6th once again called on lawmakers to quickly develop cryptocurrency-related regulations.

Yellen, who chairs the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), attended a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee and said, "While we have a number of areas where we have clear regulatory authority regarding digital assets, we have also identified some gaps," and told lawmakers, "cryptocurrency has risks," pointing out the possibility of trading on digital asset platforms and "vulnerabilities due to fluctuations in the value of cryptocurrency."

In addition, when Chairman Patrick McHenry mentioned that the House had prepared two bipartisan bills, Yellen noted that these efforts "failed." The bills were the first on stablecoins and the second on the structure of the cryptocurrency market.

Yellen continued, "Stablecoins pose risks to the financial system that both FSOC and the Presidential Task Force on Financial Markets have identified that could become significant over time. We very much welcome Congress' efforts to develop an appropriate regulatory framework to address these risks."

Some states, such as New York and Wyoming, have begun to develop their own regulatory guidelines for stablecoin issuers. A bill to clarify settlement stablecoins passed the Financial Services Committee, but discussions between Democrats and Republicans have become heated and a vote on the full chamber is not scheduled.

Yellen argued, "FSOC believes it is important to have federal regulation that applies to all states. Federal regulators should have the authority to determine whether stablecoin issuers should be prohibited from issuing such assets."

In addition, she pointed out that digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, are a risk to financial stability, and called on Congress to give federal agencies the power to regulate the spot market.

Yellen is scheduled to appear in the Senate later this week to scrutinize the report.

Reference:Hearing
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