Treasury Secretary Yellen Will Talk Crypto Regs Tomorrow

Secretary Janet Yellen plans to deliver her first speech dedicated to policy and regulation of cryptocurrencies.

It's widely reported that U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will deliver her first formal public statement tomorrow regarding the potential scope of crypto regulations and policies. The speech is planned for 10:30am ET at American University in Washington, D.C. The news came in a statement that the Treasury Department issued yesterday.

"Secretary Yellen will make the case for a consistent and comprehensive policy framework that promotes responsible innovation of digital assets and appropriately assesses and mitigates the risks they may pose," the Treasury Department's announcement stated according to media coverage.

Yellen has been critical and supportive of crypto

Yellen has been critical of Bitcoin as recently as February 2021, when she claimed Bitcoin was speculative, often used by criminals, and a massive energy drain. When she was Federal Reserve chair in 2017, Yellen said Bitcoin was "not a stable source of value" and provided "limited benefits from introducing it, a limited need for it, and some substantial concerns."

Interestingly, Yellen's criticisms have been tempered recently as she publicly said crypto has benefits. That begrudgingly positive opinion toward crypto could be a possible pivot toward President Biden's executive order last month, requiring federal agencies -- including the Treasury Department -- to research and recommend respective crypto policy possibilities.

Regardless, we shouldn't expect much from Yellen's talk. Her speech will likely be light on specifics, restating past talking points about the need to make "common sense" regulatory recommendations that address consumer and investor protections, help maintain stability of financial markets without squelching innovation, while reducing criminal use of digital assets.