WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 (PNA/Kyodo) — The U.S. central bank has no authority to regulate bitcoin, a virtual currency used for online transactions, and it would be difficult to even try to control it, Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen said Thursday.
Bitcoin is a payment innovation taking place entirely “outside the banking industry,” Yellen told a congressional session in connection with the recent halt of all bitcoin transactions by a major exchange based in Tokyo.
“I think it’s not so easy” to regulate bitcoin because there is no central issuer or network operator to regulate untypical currencies, Yellen told the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.(PNA/Kyodo)