Yellen says Congress should provide authority to regulate stablecoins

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers on Tuesday that Congress should provide a federal authority to regulate stablecoin issuers and wallet providers to close gaps in consumer protection and financial stability protections.

Yellen said during a U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee hearing that the Financial Stability Oversight Council and the President’s Working Group on Financial markets have identified stable coins and the spot market for crypto-assets that are not securities as areas needing formal regulatory authority.

(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)