The last time I wrote was on the eve of Facebook’s cryptocurrency Libra announcement. At this time tomorrow, the US Congress will have held its first hearing on the matter. It’s been quite an active few weeks – Bitcoin reached highs over $13K at one point before retreating back to the $10K mark (still nearly 3x higher than its lows earlier this year). The SEC provided more guidance on crypto custody (echoing much of what was said in FinCEN’s guidance which I covered back in May) and qualified the first Reg A blockchain offerings.

However, all eyes are on Washington DC, with US Secretary Treasury Steve Mnuchin calling a press conference today to express Treasury’s view on digital assets and in particular the Libra token. You can watch a video of his remarks here.

He reiterated his previous stance on concerns over money laundering but did note that

Treasury “welcomes responsible innovation…that expands access to financial services”. This is in contrast to President Trump’s tweetstorm a couple of days ago:

“I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air. Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity….”

 

“We have only one real currency in the USA, and it is stronger than ever, both dependable and reliable,” Trump continued. “It is by far the most dominant currency anywhere in the World, and it will always stay that way. (Read more...)