White House officials have been briefed by the US Treasury on the risks posed by the cryptocurrency market, The Washington Post has learned, citing people familiar with the matter. While the briefing did not involve high-level officials, the concerns were also raised in conversations with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
Subscribe to our Telegram channel to stay up to date on the latest crypto and blockchain news.
It is also reported that the White House is studying potential "gaps" in regulation of the cryptocurrency market, to find out whether it can be used for money laundering or terrorism financing. The official have also discussed whether the market needs protections for average retail investors.
"They are aware of the fact that there are all kinds of risks in the abstract and things to look out for, but they are still largely in a wait-and-see posture," the people added.
Speaking on the market's volatility, the people said that federal regulators "do not see" that these price swings might threaten the broader stability of financial markets.
As iHodl earlier reported, the US Treasury included a proposal to track cryptocurrency transactions over $10,000 for reporting to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in Biden IRS enforcement plan. The watchdog believes that the measure is necessary in order to "minimize the incentives and opportunity to shift income out of the new information reporting regime."
Access more than 50 of the world's financial markets directly from your EXANTE account – including NASDAQ, London Stock Exchange and Tokyo Stock Exchange.