US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin is apparently super concerned about the impact Facebook’s Libra “cryptocurrency” will have on national security, reports Bloomberg.
In a White House briefing, Mnuchin mirrored president Trump’s recently-found tough stance on digital assets by claiming that its potential to facilitate crime is high.
“Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have been exploited to support billions of dollars of illicit activity like cybercrime, tax evasion, extortion, ransomware, illicit drugs, human trafficking,” Mnuchin told reporters.
“Many players have attempted to use cryptocurrencies to fund their maligned behavior. This is indeed a national security issue,” he added.
Steve Mnuchin on whether he thinks Trump's tweets are racist: "I don't find them racist. The president just went on and clarified his comments. I think he speaks for himself on that. He was very clear. But again, we're focused on cryptocurrency."
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 15, 2019
The 💜 of EU tech
The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!
Facebook, which is scheduled to front the US senate today, has already said that it won’t launch Libra until the concerns of financial regulators and central banks are fully met.
In his official testimony, Facebook’s head of Calibra David Marcus also clarified its Libra token isn’t intended to rival to the US dollar, but rather serve as a tool to make international payments more efficient.
A Facebook spokesperson previously confirmed Libra won’t launch in India due to vehement government scrutiny.
Early Friday, Trump tweeted a barrage of anti-Bitcoin sentiment. It consisted mostly of outdated rhetoric — that Bitcoin et al are super bad because they facilitate illegal activity, yadda yadda.
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….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2019
Almost entirely indifferent to Mnuchin’s ramblings, the price of Bitcoin has risen roughly 4 percent in the past day – a small recovery since dropping over 12 percent in the past week.
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.