<p>Steven Mnuchin, the secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, has said that “very, very strong” regulations are needed to ensure bitcoin and cryptocurrencies don’t become like anonymous Swiss bank accounts.</p> <p>“We’re going to make sure that bitcoin doesn’t become the equivalent of Swiss-numbered bank accounts, which were obviously a risk to the financial system,” Mnuchin <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/18/mnuchin-says-us-will-ensure-bitcoin-doesnt-become-like-anonymous.html">told</a> CNBC in an interview on Thursday.</p> <p>The secretary further said that “billions of dollars of transactions” in cryptocurrencies are taking place for illegal purposes and he wants to ensure that it stops.</p> <p>Earlier this week, Mnuchin shared similar concerns at a press briefing on cryptocurrencies. He <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/2019/07/15/video-and-transcript-of-u-s-treasury-secretarys-press-briefing-on-cryptocurrencies/">said</a>: “Our number one issue is that: one, we don’t want bad actors using cryptocurrency [...] We’ll make sure that the general public and investors understand what they’re investing in and whether it’s the SEC or other regulators, there’s proper disclosures.”</p>