Mnuchin: “We Want To Make Sure Bad People Can’t Use Bitcoin To Do Bad Things”

by | Jan 12, 2018 | Headline News | 23 comments

Do you LOVE America?

    Share

    This article was originally published by Tyler Durden at Zero Hedge

    bitcoin

    Back in September 2015, when we first predicted that Bitcoin would enjoy an exponential price increase as first the Chinese and then everyone else realized that the cryptocurrency is nothing less than the digital equivalent of borderless Swiss account, bypassing capital controls with ease and enabling money laundering anywhere and everywhere, its market cap was $3 billion. It is now $230 billion.

    Today, a little over two years later, the US Treasury has finally this figured out, and on Friday Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he will work with the Group of 20 nations to prevent cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin from becoming the digital equivalent of an anonymous Swiss bank account.

    “We are very focused on cryptocurrencies,” Mnuchin explained, pointing to discussions with other regulators within the U.S. government and later stating: “We want to make sure that bad people cannot use these currencies to do bad things.”

    Speaking at the Economic Club of Washington, Mnuchin said that the Financial Stability Oversight Council, a government body that assesses financial system risks, has formed a working group focused on cryptocurrencies, and explained that “In the United States — and people may not realize this — under our laws, if you have a wallet to own bitcoins, that company has the same obligation as a bank to Know Your Customer. So, in the United States, we have rules for anti-money-laundering, for all different types of entities, we can track those types of [transactions]. The rest of the world doesn’t have that. So one of the things we are working very closely with the G-20 on is making sure that this doesn’t become the Swiss numbered bank account.”

    During the remarks, Mnuchin also suggested that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to develop its own digital version of fiat currency – a topic under discussion at a number of central banks worldwide – in the near future.

    “The Fed and we don’t think there’s a need for that at this point,” Mnuchin said.

    Mnuchin added that he was worried about heightened levels of speculation in the bitcoin market. “The other concern I have is, there’s a lot of speculation in this, and I want to make sure that consumers who are trading this understand the risks,” Mnuchin said. “I am concerned that consumers may get hurt.”

    Apparently he was far less concerned about consumers buying the S&P at all time high valuations.

    More to the point, yes the US will gladly tax crypto trading now that the total market cap of all “coins” is $700 billion, and no, it has no intention of cracking down on Bitcoin or other cryptos.

    Mnuchin also said that he is “not at all” worried that Russia may use cryptocurrencies to help its banks avoid international sanctions. An adviser to President Vladimir Putin is reported to have said that sanctions against Russia have created a need for digital currencies as officials there fear expansions in 2018.

    As we reported in December, Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree allowing the government to classify purchases by the Defense Ministry, Federal Security Service and Foreign Intelligence Service as state secrets.

    “This idea that Russia or Venezuela can thwart the pressure from sanctions just by developing their own cryptocurrency is silly,” lawyer Erich Ferrari of Ferrari & Associates told Bloomberg. “It’s like trying to do it by using cash. Yes you can do it more easily with cash, but it doesn’t mean you’re evading. It’s harder to get caught.”

    Full remarks below

    URGENT ON GOLD… as in URGENT

    It Took 22 Years to Get to This Point

    Gold has been the right asset with which to save your funds in this millennium that began 23 years ago.

    Free Exclusive Report
    The inevitable Breakout – The two w’s

      Related Articles

      Comments

      Join the conversation!

      It’s 100% free and your personal information will never be sold or shared online.

      23 Comments

      1. “…do bad things.”

        You mean, like Obama crony Jon “Sorry, I stole your $1.6 billion of personal funds” Corzine? Like Hilary’s “miraculous” cattle future trades, or stealing money from the Haiti earthquake disaster relief fund?

        • Test, regarding the Clintons and the missing money from Haiti….makes my blood boil. I don’t know how they manage to sleep at night knowing what they’ve done.

          Ok, now I remember. They are soul-less ghouls.

      2. Bitcoin will be blamed for the pending economic collapse.

        That is why the Powers that Be are not doing anything to control it.

        They want to use Bitcoin as an escape goat.

      3. As a rule, I despise most Americans
        called Democrats. I don’t like those that
        support GOPe.
        I don’t endorse PMs.
        I do encourage everyone to invest
        in Bitcoin.
        Smart people invest in themselves.
        I could care less about the rest.

      4. Recently I read that there are 1,300 crypto currencies, worldwide.
        What could possible go wrong? 🙂

        Talk about bubbles.

      5. “possibly”

      6. Mnuchin: “We Want To Make Sure Bad People Can’t Use Bitcoin To Do Bad Things”

        What a POS

        But it’s ok for the wall street bankers & the PPT & the fed to rig & manipulate what ever they chose right you tribal crook.

        • What can he do other than talk ?

      7. Out of the mouths of crooks…

      8. The same guy that said he saw the gold in Fort Knox. LMFAO.

      9. I’m just going to say it – Mnuchin is a political switch-hitter – having been both Democrat and Republican. He’s Jewish. He has no allegiance to this country beyond what his handlers tell him to do and funnel their way. He has a wife, Louis Linton, who so hopelessly fulfills her role as a trophy/arm-candy and I feel a bit sorry for having to perform for him. But that’s what whores do. Sure he’s going to push to tax any and all currencies. That’s what zionists do. And he is exactly that – to the core. As is his slightly younger protoge Kushner. I ask – why is it that one of the smallest racial/religious/political populations in the world hold so much control over finance, media and entertainment, politics? They rail about prejudice and racism; when, they are those very qualities in spades personified. I’m sick of their influence in this world.

        • Amen & spot on

      10. Translation:

        We don’t want you to have something we can’t use to tax the shit out of you.

        Can I say it? I think I will…

        Fuck you Mnuchin. There is a special place in hell for bastards like you. This has nothing to do with crime and everything to do with unlawful taxation, control and surveillance.

        • +1,000

      11. Says the man who hates the retired and elderly and wants to eliminate Medicare and cut Social Security, all while pretending it just happened naturally, he had nothing to do with it. I for one, am not one to believe liars.

      12. the blockchain process prevent the use and assessment of INTEREST. of course the banks and its lackeys want to kill it. also prevents the assessment of TAXES.

      13. Doubtful the statists will be able to control cryptocurrency. For one thing they can’t hire enough agents to stop it. It is becoming a worldwide populist movement away from central authority.

      14. I would categorize Mnuchin as one of those dark creatures. He runs the greatest counterfeiting scheme of money sorcery in the history of man kind.

      15. Remember, Trump was the one who selected Mnuchin.

        Mnuchin didn’t get into that position on his own. Trump cherry-picked this evil pos.

      16. Once again the government is looking out for us; don’t you feel better. These government minions want us to think that Wall Street is not manipulated and we are all in a better investment world dealing with Wall Street scumbags than the crypto world. I would rather risk everything in the crypto world than Wall Street; at least I know what I’m getting into then.

      17. I had over $200K stolen by Jon Corzine from what is supposed to be the SAFEST type of account on Wall Street you can have; i.e., the venerable “Segregated Account”; i.e., a commodities account. NO funds are to be touched or used for other purposes because your personal commodities account is constantly being used for margin purposes. But that didn’t stop Corzine from using and losing OUR money. So, I’m supposed to feel good that Mnuchin is looking out for us, eh? Assholes.

      18. “Because bad people don’t do bad things with cash”

      19. “We want to make sure that bad people cannot use these currencies to do bad things.”
        You mean like funding both sides of every armed conflict for hundreds of years assuring that regardless of who wins they make money like every fed which are all controlled literally by the same family. Hell Britain’s version literally sent a false messenger to England after the blitz that the Russians failed causing everyone in England to sell everything for next to nothing which the fed bought. For real. That is a known fact.

      Commenting Policy:

      Some comments on this web site are automatically moderated through our Spam protection systems. Please be patient if your comment isn’t immediately available. We’re not trying to censor you, the system just wants to make sure you’re not a robot posting random spam.

      This website thrives because of its community. While we support lively debates and understand that people get excited, frustrated or angry at times, we ask that the conversation remain civil. Racism, to include any religious affiliation, will not be tolerated on this site, including the disparagement of people in the comments section.