New crypto rules likely coming from U.S. agencies, Mnuchin says

Cryptocurrency's potential risks for financial institutions has caught the eye of the Secretary of Treasury.

Unlike other currencies, cryptocurrencies are digital and use cryptography to provide secure online transactions, says Nerdwallet. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says U.S. regulators are likely to issue new rules on cryptocurrencies to ensure that they don’t negatively impact the financial system.

After staying mostly quiet on the issue for more than two years, the Trump administration has been raising alarm over potential risks associated with virtual money since Facebook Inc. announced plans for a digital token last month. Mnuchin on Wednesday repeated concerns that Bitcoin is being used for criminal activity and pledged that financial regulators would work together on the issue.

“We’re looking at all of the crypto assets,” Mnuchin said in a CNBC television interview. “We’re going to make sure we have a unified approach and my guess is that there are going to be more regulations that come out from all these agencies.”

At least a half dozen U.S. regulators including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have claimed some turf.

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