U.S. President Joe Biden's option for Treasury Secretarial assistant Janet Yellen may see more benefits to cryptocurrency than her previous testimony indicated.

After a virtual hearing of the U.South. Senate Finance Committee held on Tuesday, Yellen hit the headlines for her respond to Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan's question about how she would reply to "emerging financial applied science" existence used to fund criminal organizations and terrorists. Yellen referred to cryptocurrencies equally a "growing concern" in the U.S., said they were used "mainly for illicit financing" for the aforementioned groups, and that the U.South. government needed to examine ways to "curtail" the apply of crypto as function of their anti-money laundering efforts.

However, her written statement published on the Senate Finance Commission website today suggests that Yellen's views on crypto may not exist as surly as those remarks suggested. Though Yellen'south written statement reiterates the need to curtail the use of the crypto for "malign and illegal activities," she also said that she planned to encourage the apply of digital assets for "legitimate activities."

Yellen said:

"I think it important nosotros consider the benefits of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, and the potential they accept to improve the efficiency of the financial system."

The futurity Treasury Secretary also said she wanted the U.s. to be a "leader in the digital asset and financial technology areas." She added that she would aid develop a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency "and other fintech innovations" past working with the Federal Reserve Board.

Yellen served as the chair of the Federal Reserve nether U.Southward. President Barack Obama, and has been repose on her views surrounding the crypto space since calling Bitcoin "annihilation just useful" in October 2018. She left her position as Fed chair in early 2018 following the 2017 bull run which drove Bitcoin (BTC) to a then all-time high.

The Senate Finance Committee is expected to vote on Yellen'south nomination tomorrow, afterward which it volition go to the Senate chamber where Democrats hold a bulk. If canonical, Yellen would exist the first adult female to serve equally Treasury Secretary.