U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Says Won’t Allow Bitcoin to Become Swiss-Numbered Bank Account

The crypto markets have kept the U.S. regulators busy this week. The senate hearing of Facebook’s David Marcus was one of the most discussed events this week in and out the crypto fraternity.

During the hearing, the U.S. Congress stressed all its discussion on Facebook’s Libra project and somehow other cryptocurrencies like the Bitcoin weren’t discussed much. However, on Thursday, April 18, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that cryptocurrencies are very much under his watch and they plan to introduce “very very strong” regulations.

Speaking at the CNBC Squawk Box show, Mnuchin said: “There are billions of dollars of transactions going on in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for illicit purposes. We’re going to make sure that Bitcoin doesn’t become the equivalent of Swiss-numbered bank accounts”. 

Secretary Mnuchin further added that strict regulations will push for transparency in crypto market transactions while keeping them away from Shady banking risks which the Swiss system facilitates. Mnuchin said: “I want to be careful that anybody who’s using Bitcoin regardless of what the price is – is using it for proper purposes and not illicit purposes.”

Well, we all know that Swiss banks have been a haven for people to keep their money secret and move it around the world. Over the last few years, cryptocurrencies are turning out as the potential tool for money-laundering.

Moreover, some privacy coins have made it even more difficult for regulators to trace the transactions. As a result, regulators have been stressing enough on a major crackdown on the illicit use of cryptocurrencies. 

Earlier this week on Monday, July15, just before the Libra hearing, Mnuchin stated that he’s “not comfortable” with Libra entering the country’s financial ecosystem and expressed some “serious concerns” about it.

In some sharp attacking words, Mnuchin said: “Libra could be misused by money launderers and terrorist financiers. This is indeed a national security issue”. However, he added that if Facebook assures the authorities of implementing strict anti-money laundering measures there is still some hope.

But taking a dig at the social media giant, Mnuchin said that looking at the shady past of Facebook in handling user data and privacy, the company has a lot to do to convince the U.S. regulators.