Former US Treasury Secretary Mnuchin Says His Perspective On Bitcoin “Has Evolved”

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Former US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said his take on bitcoin “has changed a bit.” While he personally doesn’t want to have bitcoin in his wallet, he says if people want to buy the cryptocurrency, “that’s fine.”

Mnuchin says it’s “perfectly fine” if people want to buy Bitcoin

Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke about bitcoin, cybersecurity and the U.S. economy in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday. He was asked if his take on bitcoin had changed since the last time he was interviewed by the media when he was still Secretary of the Treasury. At that time, Mnuchin rejected cryptocurrency, stating that it had no intrinsic value.

Since then, a growing number of large companies and prominent traders have branched out into bitcoin. Major investment banks, such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup, have started or are in the process of offering crypto products or services to their clients.

As to whether his take on bitcoin has evolved, Mnuchin said:

I think my point of view has evolved a bit, but it’s pretty consistent… If people want to buy bitcoin as a substitute, no different than buying gold or some other asset, that’s fine. Personally, I don’t want to have it in my portfolio, but if people want it, that’s fine.

The former Treasury secretary added that “the technology behind blockchain is pretty amazing,” noting that there are many applications that use it.

When it comes to bitcoin and other crypto assets, Mnuchin stressed that it is important that they comply with regulations, including the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).

Noting that under the Trump administration, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) last year approved banks to offer cryptocurrency custodian services, he explained:

The reason we did it was because we wanted to make sure that in the world it became regulated… and that it should be fully BSA compliant.

What do you think of Mnuchin’s comments on bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below.

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