US president pauses controversial crypto proposal

The United States has just named a new President, Joe Biden, and he’s started making waves both inside and outside the cryptocurrency industry. On his first day in office, President Biden decided to freeze all federal regulatory processes, including the controversial proposal for a crypto wallet.

President Biden has frozen all agency rulemaking pending further review. This includes former Secretary Mnuchin's proposal on "unhosted wallets."

We fought hard & earned the right to take a breath & reset. Janet Yellen isn't Steve Mnuchin. I'm optimistic.https://t.co/0EAmYhbqa5
— Jake Chervinsky (@jchervinsky) January 21, 2021

The controversial proposal for a crypto wallet has been frozen

The proposal was presented on December 18, 2020 by FinCen (Financial Crime Enforcement Network) and chaired by current US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

Mnuchin is often viewed as an opponent of the privacy and anonymity offered to users by the crypto industry, and this is reflected in its recommendations. If the proposal is accepted, banks and other financial institutions will be required to keep records and file reports of crypto transactions made by customers in personal purses.

In addition, the bank has to verify its identity, which completely eliminates privacy. The proposal has been criticized by many in the crypto industry, including Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Dorsey believes that transactions from private cryptocurrency wallets shouldn’t require a record of names and addresses, just like no cash.

Fortunately, the latest White House memorandum for the heads of various agencies has arrived, stopping this and all other regulatory processes.

The new finance minister more like to listen and learn

Note that the process is not automatically rejected – it just freezes and waits for review within the next 60 days. Another thing to note is that Biden didn’t specifically stop the proposal for a cryptocurrency wallet, it stopped all of the decision makers including the FinCen proposal.

Since the controversial proposal emerged, critics have spoken out against it, even saying it was impossible to comply with, but Minister Mnuchin doesn’t seem to know anything about it.

Now Biden has appointed a new Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen. Yellen doesn’t seem to be more open right now than her predecessor, who pointed out earlier this week that cryptocurrencies are mainly used for “illegal funding”.

However, Jack Chervinsky of the General Council of Compound Finance said that while she may not be a fan now, she is more willing to listen and learn than Mnuchin. Most importantly, when deciding on new regulations, she would more likely follow regular instructions.

First, anyone is better than Secretary Mnuchin, who decided long ago that he hated everything about crypto.

Second, although Dr. Yellen may not be a fan now, I expect she'll be open to learning & listening, & will follow regular order in deciding on new regulations. That's good.
— Jake Chervinsky (@jchervinsky) January 21, 2021

Disclaimer: The information in this article should not be considered financial advice, and FXCryptoNews articles are intended only to provide educational and general information. Please consult with a financial advisor before making any investment decisions.