Steven Mnuchin, the Secretary of the US Treasury, has no issue with the launch of the Facebook-led Libra project, as long as financial rules are followed.
Libra Launching early https://t.co/SAagOq9cIl — Bit Coins Bank © (@BankBitCoins) December 7, 2019
He said:
“I’m fine if Facebook wants to create a digital currency, but they need to be fully compliant with financial secrecy and anti-money laundering rules. In no way can this be used for terrorist financing.”
However, Mnuchin was speaking in Washington, D.C. at a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee in response to a question from a lawmaker.
Steven Mnuchin, secretary of the U.S. Treasury, has no issue with the launch of the Facebook-led Libra project – as long as financial rules are followed to the letter. "Mnuchin ‘Fine’ With Libra Launch, But Crypto Project Must ‘Fully’ Comply With AML Rules" … — CryptoCoinsMarket (@ccoinmarket) December 6, 2019
Since Libra was announced in June, much to the ignorance of the globe’s regulators and central banks, Mnuchin indicated that he met with Facebook a dozen times to talk over regulatory concerns. That’s slowed the pace of the payments project’s move toward launch.
Likewise, Libra will be a stablecoin for payments through Facebook platforms and other wallets and products and is likely to be pegged to a basket of national currencies and government bonds.
Bloomberg wrote that at the hearing, Mnuchin also said that the US is unlikely to develop a digital currency in the near term.
Mnuchin added:
“[Federal Reserve Chair Jerome] Powell and I have discussed this – we both agree that in the near future, in the next five years, we see no need for the Fed to issue a digital currency.”
<img src="https://www.cryptonewspoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/107758669_getty_composite.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6755 lazyload" width="461" height="259" />
Thus, the hearing saw questions over China‘s plans to launch a digital yuan in the near future. The European Central Bank also made comments recently that it might launch a digital currency if traditional payment methods are not improved for consumers.
Source: bloomberg.com |coindesk.com