U.S. President Joe Biden’s pick for Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen may see more benefits to cryptocurrency than her previous testimony indicated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a virtual hearing of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee held on Tuesday, Yellen hit the headlines for her answer to Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan\u2019s question about how she would respond to \u201cemerging financial technology\u201d being used to fund criminal organizations and terrorists. Yellen referred to cryptocurrencies as a \u201cgrowing concern\u201d<\/a> in the U.S., said they were used \u201cmainly for illicit financing\u201d for the aforementioned groups, and that the U.S. government needed to examine ways to \u201ccurtail\u201d the use of crypto as part of their anti-money laundering efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, her written statement published<\/a> on the Senate Finance Committee website today suggests that Yellen\u2019s views on crypto may not be as bearish as those remarks suggested. Though Yellen\u2019s written statement reiterates the need to curtail the use of the crypto for \u201cmalign and illegal activities,\u201d she also said that she planned to encourage the use of digital assets for \u201clegitimate activities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yellen said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The future Treasury Secretary also said she wanted the United States to be a \u201cleader in the digital asset and financial technology areas.\u201d She added that she would help develop a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency \u201cand other fintech innovations\u201d by working with the Federal Reserve Board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yellen served as the chair of the Federal Reserve under U.S. President Barack Obama, and has been quiet on her views surrounding the crypto space since calling Bitcoin “anything but useful”<\/a> in October 2018. She left her position as Fed chair in early 2018 following the 2017 bull run which drove Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>) to a then all-time high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Senate Finance Committee is expected to vote on Yellen\u2019s nomination tomorrow, after which it will go to the Senate chamber where Democrats hold a majority. If approved, Yellen would be the first woman to serve as Treasury Secretary.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" U.S. President Joe Biden’s pick for Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen may see more benefits to cryptocurrency than her previous testimony indicated. After a virtual hearing of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee held on Tuesday, Yellen hit the headlines for her answer to Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan\u2019s question about how she would respond to \u201cemerging financial …<\/p>\n