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US Treasury warns against illicit use of Facebook’s digital currency

US Treasury warns against illicit use of Facebook’s digital currency

Mubasher: US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin voiced his concerns about Facebook’s planned digital currency, pointing to the possibility of its illicit use, CNBC reported.

Facebook’s proposed digital token, dubbed as Libra, “could be misused by money launderers and terrorist financiers,” according to Mnuchin who regarded the new crypto asset “national security issue,” and urged the social media giant to do more work.

“Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin have been exploited to support billions of dollars of illicit activity like cybercrime, tax evasion, extortion, ransomware, illicit drugs and human trafficking,” Mnuchin was quoted by CNBC as saying in a press conference on Monday.

The Treasury secretary joined a parade of policy makers and politicians who criticised the newly launched cryptocurrency. US President Donald Trump, who said that he was “not a fan” of crypto assets such as bitcoin, said that Facebook would need a bank charter to launch its global digital currency.

In response to Mnuchin’s remarks, Facebook stated that it “anticipated critical feedback from regulators, central banks, lawmakers around the world,” according to CNBC.

Moreover, Libra was announced a year before its debut, “so that we could have those conversations,” the US company told the media outlet.

Mnuchin asserted that Facebook and other bitcoin users should implement the same anti-money-laundering and counterterrorism safeguards like any other financial institution “to maintain the integrity of our financial system and protect it from abuse.”

“We will not allow digital asset service providers to operate in the shadows,” he said.