US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says he has no plans to outlaw cryptocurrencies.
While testifying before Congress, Powell fielded crypto-related questions from Representative Ted Budd in the wake of China’s recent ban across the digital asset space.
The North Carolina Republican first asked the chairman about a statement he made during previous testimony in July.
“You were asked about CBDCs, or central bank digital currencies, and their impact on stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies. And you stated… ‘You wouldn’t need stablecoins, you wouldn’t need cryptocurrencies if you had a digital US currency.’
So Mr. Chairman, as a matter of policy, is it your intention to ban or limit the use of cryptocurrencies like we’re seeing in China?”
The Fed chair immediately sought to clarify his previous statement.
“I didn’t mean… Take the word cryptocurrency out of that sentence and I would say it’s fairly widely understood that central bank digital currencies could make…”
Congressman Budd jumped in before Powell completed his sentence and asked, “But no intention to ban?”
Powell responded,
“No intention to ban them. But stablecoins are like money market funds, they’re like bank deposits.
But they’re to some extent outside the regulatory perimeter, and it’s appropriate that they be regulated. Same activity, same regulation.”
Chairman Powell has spoken several times this year about what the realities of a digital dollar might look like.
Rep. Budd is a vocal proponent of the US not only welcoming blockchain technology, but taking the lead before other countries seize the advantage.
“It’s a new technology. It’s going to evolve and I’d rather it evolve here in the US than in Singapore or in Estonia… or other nations that could be hostile to us.
I’d rather it be on our shores [with] a regulatory framework where people can expect what the future’s going to look like and they can develop within inside that framework.”
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