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Congressman Kevin McCarthy has urged Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell not to ignore bitcoin like they have been trying to do. He believes it is the future, emphasizing, \u201cI do not want America to fall behind\u201d other countries.<\/strong><\/p>\n GOP leader Kevin McCarthy talked about bitcoin in an interview with CNBC last week. Congressman McCarthy serves California\u2019s 23rd district and is currently the Republican leader in the U.S. House of Representatives.<\/p>\n He was asked specifically if he thinks that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell have a good understanding of digital currencies or bitcoin given their recent comments and what advice he has for them.<\/p>\n A longtime proponent of bitcoin, McCarthy said in July 2019, \u201cI like bitcoin\u201d and the security of the blockchain technology behind it. Reiterating his view on bitcoin back in 2019, the congressman replied, \u201cI was right then and I\u2019m right now,\u201d elaborating:<\/p>\n I think they tried to ignore it to make it go away. I think Jamie Dimon will tell you that from the beginning he was wrong. This is moving toward the future. They should not ignore it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon called bitcoin a \u201cfraud\u201d that is \u201cworse than tulip bulbs\u201d in 2017. His bank has come a long way since then. Today, JPMorgan says it sees massive<\/a> institutional demand for bitcoin and has launched<\/a> a crypto investment product tracking public companies with bitcoin exposure.<\/p>\n Federal Reserve Chair Powell and Treasury Secretary have not warmed up to bitcoin. Powell said<\/a> last week that cryptocurrencies are \u201cvehicles for speculation.\u201d He claimed that \u201cThey\u2019re not really being actively used as payment,\u201d despite a growing list of companies accepting them for payment, including Elon Musk\u2019s Tesla<\/a>. Treasury Secretary Yellen shares a similar sentiment. She called bitcoin was a \u201chighly speculative asset\u201d in February, asserting that it was not \u201cwidely used as a transmission mechanism\u201d and was an \u201cextremely inefficient<\/a> way of conducting transactions.\u201d Yellen also warned that the misuse of cryptocurrencies is a growing problem<\/a>, noting that cryptocurrencies are mainly used for illicit financing<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/ins> <\/ins> <\/p>\n McCarthy additionally said during last week\u2019s interview that regarding bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, Treasury Secretary Yellen and Fed Chair Powell \u201cshould not only learn more about it but the basis is going to continue to grow.\u201d He further opined:<\/p>\n This is something that those who regulate, those who are in government that make policy better start understanding what it means for the future.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The congressman emphasized that \u201cother countries are moving forward\u201d in the area of digital currencies. \u201cI do not want America to fall behind. I want the next century to be ours. That\u2019s why I want to look forward, not backward, and not keep my head in the sand,\u201d the lawmaker concluded.<\/p>\nGovernment and the Fed Should Not Ignore Bitcoin<\/h2>\n
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