Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Weighs in on Crypto

Over a decade bitcoin has been around and in that whole time politicians and the powers to be barely gave it notice.

Then Facebook comes out with its Libra announcement, and governments around the world are freaking out.

The latest to get on the podium is Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury Secretary of the United States. In fact, he’s still speaking as I write.

Some highlights below.

Well, it’s mostly the same rhetoric.

According to Mnuchin, the Trump administration has “very serious concerns” about Facebook proposed cryptocurrency Libra.

Said Mnuchin, “This is indeed a national security issue.”

He went on to say, “We will not allow digital asset service providers to operate in the shadows.”

He’s got FinCEN, or the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network on the case. Per Mnuchin FinCEN “will hold any entity that transacts in Bitcoin, Libra or any other cryptocurrency to its highest standards.”

“With respect to Facebook’s Libra and other developments in cryptocurrencies, our overriding goal is to maintain the integrity of our financial system and protect it from abuse,” Mnuchin said.

Apparently, Mnuchin’s comments exceeded expectations as bitcoin has rallied sharply since he started talking. The one day chart is below.

Overall, kind of interesting but kind of the same stuff we’ve been hearing. But it’s certain to get better tomorrow.

Facebook’s David Marcus, the top company executive working on Libra, appears before the Senate Banking Committee.

Tune in tomorrow for more.

And buy BTC !!!