Fed Chair Jerome Powell says he has no intention to ban crypto

Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve Chairman for the United States said that he has no plans to ban the use of cryptocurrencies but instead regulate it. In a House Financial Services Committee meeting held last Thursday, Powell stated that regulatory oversight is needed instead. 

The meeting discussed the Treasury Department’s plans for the pandemic and how they will be handling certain issues. The topic of crypto regulation or the prospect of a ban was brought up by Representative Ted Budd, a member of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus. 

Budd asked Powell whether or not he plans to “ban or limit the use of cryptocurrencies”, to which Powell replied with his contradiction. 

“No, I have no intention to ban them’, he said and proceeded to say that he had misspoken in an earlier conference where the context may have been taken differently. ‘I didn’t mean to take the word cryptocurrency out of the sentence’. 

Powell clarified that he had no intention of banning cryptocurrencies completely, but instead regulating their use, especially with digital currencies like stablecoins. 

‘I would say it’s fairly widely understood that central bank digital currencies could perform some of the … stablecoins are like money market funds, like bank deposits, and it’s appropriate that they be regulated. Same activity, same regulation’. 

The House Financial Services Committee meeting was meant to be a gathering to discuss the plans of the Treasury Department when it comes to the pandemic. However, the question was raised by Budd in a quick manner, and the concern was answered in less than a minute. 

Discussing cryptocurrencies and the prospect of further regulation is not unheard of in the US government. Janet Yellen, the Secretary of the Treasury Department also talked about stablecoins as well. She discussed how ‘critical’ it is to use a framework for the regulation of stablecoins. 

There are currently no updates as to when or how the new regulatory frameworks will be presented. However, the statements of Fed Chair Jerome Powell has removed any suspicions on whether or not cryptocurrencies will be banned in the US. 

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