The fall in the price of Bitcoin seems to be due to rumors about the Treasury’s measures against money laundering related to cryptocurrencies. Smith said that Yellen must understand the value of cryptocurrencies rather than think that they primarily contribute to funding crime.
Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith recently dismissed rumors about the US Treasury Department. Twitter users said that this agency was on the verge of taking action against Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies.
Those unconfirmed rumors led the cryptocurrency market to crash in recent days. They said that the Treasury Department could be working on stronger regulations for the sector. The excuse would be that they want to prevent money laundering.
For that reason, Fundstrat’s Leeor Shimron said that “there have been a lot of rumors and speculations about the recent market crash.”
Likewise, IG Markets analyst Diego Morín stressed that Bitcoin has lost up to 14% after those speculations. According to the rumors, the US Treasury could be seeking to fight money laundering related to cryptocurrencies.
Kristin Smith Dismisses Rumors about Anti-Bitcoin Measures
The price of Bitcoin has skyrocketed this year, but its sharp drop seems to be the result of unconfirmed rumors. Twitter users said that the Treasury Department planned to take action against money laundering schemes related to cryptocurrencies.
In an interview on the CNBC television channel, Kristin Smith debunked the reports. She claimed that charging money laundering companies was the exclusive competence of the Justice Department.
In a Twitter thread, Smith said that there has been enormous confusion about alleged regulation and its application to cryptocurrencies. Likewise, she explained that it is necessary to be clear about who is in charge of doing things. She stated that the Secretary of the Treasury is not involved in the execution decisions but career professionals in the Treasury.”
The Treasury Has Not Been Analyzing Cryptocurrency Regulation
Smith stated that “Yellen has not created a Task Force to analyze the regulation on cryptocurrencies. However, this situation could change in the future.”
She warns that it is necessary to “be careful with tweets from suspicious accounts. Instead, we must know the real financial system bodies, which can shape the regulatory game.”
According to Smith, events like Coinbase’s listing on Nasdaq provide evidence about the growing validation of the cryptocurrency market. For that reason, the Washington authorities can hardly ignore such a phenomenon.
Blockchain Association Seeks to Talk about Cryptocurrency Regulations
The cryptocurrency advocacy group Blockchain Association is lobbying key figures in the Biden administration. They want there to be a more favorable regulation on cryptocurrencies.
Kristin Smith said that the group is still in the process of scheduling meetings with senior White House officials. Among them would be the Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen.
Smith cited Yellen’s comments that the main utility of cryptocurrencies is “illicit financing.” She said that the association was seeking to help the Treasury chief “understand the value of cryptocurrency networks.”
At the time of writing this article, Bitcoin is trading above USD 55,000, according to data from CoinGecko.
By Alexander Salazar
