In recent months, the cryptocurrency industry has been plagued by massive investor losses, bankruptcies of cryptocurrency exchanges, lenders and payment platforms, and high-profile court cases, including a criminal case against FTX founder Sam Bankman-fried. US regulators, including the US central bank, have told banks to be more careful about fraud risk.
In statements prepared to be delivered to a Center of Global Interdependence At the conference, Waller said that the spillover effect on the broader financial system has so far been "minimal" and that it is critical that regulators ensure they mitigate financial stability risks associated with stress in the securities industry. cryptocurrencies.
At the same time, he said, banks considering participating in cryptocurrency must adhere to know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering requirements, and must ensure they monitor clients' business models and risk management systems. so that the bank "does not keep waiting". the stock market" if there is a crypto crash
Waller issued an even clearer warning to cryptocurrency traders: As assets that have no intrinsic value, cryptocurrencies are risky.
"If people want to have an asset like that, do it," Waller said. "However, if you buy crypto assets and the price hits zero at some point, don't be surprised and don't expect taxpayers to socialize your losses."
