Bitcoin, Ethereum surge after US Treasury Secretary Yellen’s leaked statement calms fears around Biden’s crypto policy

• Janet Yellen’s statement was online for a short time, but it was enough to lead a rally in the price of the top 10 cryptos.
• Bitcoin’s price was up by 8.3% at the time of writing, while Ethereum’s price was up by 6.88%.
• The European Union is also looking to regulate crypto soon.

A leaked statement from US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen led to a rise in Bitcoin’s price early on Wednesday. Yellen’s statement, which has since been taken offline but is still available on web archives, revealed details of an executive order that’s about to come from US President Joe Biden.


The statement also indicated that Biden’s order will address risks related to illicit finance, protect consumers and investors, and prevent threats to the financial system and broader economy. It’s the first real indication that lawmakers in the US, like many other countries, will not be banning cryptocurrencies. Instead, they seem to be facilitating development around them, while keeping them away from the fiat space.

Crypto coins surge

According to crypto tracking website, Coinmarketcap, the price of Bitcoin was up 8.3% over the past 24 hour period at 3.05 pm IST today. The world’s most valuable cryptocurrency was trading at $42,114.14 at the time.

Not only Bitcoin though, but Ether was also up by about 6.88% at the time, trading at $2,757.98 at the time of writing. Coinmarketcap’s data shows that the top 10 cryptos have been up in the past 24 hours, despite earlier concerns about the state of crypto after Russia and Ukraine's war broke out.

All eyes on Biden’s crypto order

Biden’s executive order has been expected since January this year. According to a Reuters report, the US President is supposed to finally sign the order today.

The order is expected to give impetus to digital assets in the US, which in turn would spur their growth outside the country. “This is designed to look holistically at digital assets and develop a set of policies that give coherence to what the government is trying to do in this space,” a source familiar with the White House’s plans told Cointelegraph on January 28.

Yellen’s statement also said that the US Treasury will partner with “interagency colleagues” to produce a report on money and payment systems. “We’ll also convene the Financial Stability Oversight Council to evaluate the potential financial stability risks of digital assets and assess whether appropriate safeguards are in place,” the statement said.

EU moves regulations too

The statement was also leaked less than a day after the European Parliament submitted a policy document for crypto regulations for voting. Like Biden’s executive order and Yellen’s statement, that bill is also expected to set ground rules for how crypto transactions will work within EU nations.

While Biden’s executive order may still change, the EU’s policies seem to be focusing on curbing money laundering through crypto by applying existing rules to it.

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