From: MoneyNews
Virtual currencies will benefit from government oversight that lends credibility to the market, according to the U.S. Treasury Department’s top official targeting money laundering.
“Financial transparency can help bring stability to the virtual currency market and security to its users and investors,” David S. Cohen, the undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said today in remarks prepared for a speech at the New York headquarters of Bloomberg News. “That is what we are trying to do through sensible, flexible and, to use a word from the tech world, scalable regulation.”
Governments around the world are grappling with how to classify or regulate virtual currencies such as Bitcoin. Authorities in Russia, China and Israel have sought to restrict the payment system, while Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew said in January the U.S. needed more time to assess the “phenomenon” to ensure it isn’t used for unlawful purposes.
“There may be situations where we need to choose between innovation and transparency,” Cohen said in the draft remarks. “Let me be clear: When forced to choose between the two, we will err on the side of transparency.”
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