The US Treasury needs to intensify efforts to fill the “regulatory vacuum” for the cryptocurrency industry, according to a top US regulator.
The explosion in cryptocurrencies — the total value of bitcoin and other digital currencies stands at more than $354bn despite a fall in recent months — has attracted the interest of regulators, who have had to balance the desire not to stymie the new technology while weeding out fraudulent ventures.
Steven Mnuchin, Treasury secretary, said in January that the Financial Stability Oversight Council, which was set up after the 2008 financial crisis to identify threats to the US economy, had formed a working group to look at cryptocurrencies.