Fed to continue focus on crypto-currencies – Fed governor says: “We don’t want to hinder innovation”

Michelle Bowman, governor of the Federal Reserve, says that if “crypto-currency activities can pose significant risks“. the Fed does not want “hindering innovation“. She added: “Ne could push growth in this space into the nonbank sector, leading to much less transparency and potential risk to financial stability.“

Fed Governor on crypto-currencies, the US economy and inflation.

Michelle Bowman, a member of the Federal Reserve System’s Board of Governors, spoke about crypto-currencies, the U.S. economy and the Fed’s efforts to reduce inflation on Tuesday at a Florida Bankers Association event in Miami.

Commenting on the collapse of the FTX crypto-currency exchange and other recent events in the crypto space, the Fed governor said, “These events have made it clear that crypto-currency activities can pose significant risks to consumers, businesses and potentially the broader financial system.“

Noting that she expects some banks to continue to explore “How to engage in crypto-currency-related activities“, Michelle Bowman noted:

The Fed and other banking agencies will continue to focus on this area in light of the significant risks that these activities can pose. But the bottom line is that we don’t want to impede innovation.

“As regulators, we must support innovation and recognize that the banking industry must evolve to meet consumer demand“, continued the Fed governor.

By inhibiting innovation, we could push growth in this space to the nonbank sector, which would lead to much less transparency and a potential risk to financial stability. We are thinking about some of these issues and what a regulatory approach might be,” she added.

Regarding the Federal Reserve’s fight against inflation, Governor Bowman said she has supported the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) actions to combat high inflation over the past year. “I am committed to taking further action to return inflation to our target“she said.

The Fed governor explained that the FOMC has tightened monetary policy since last March “through a combination of raising the federal funds rate by 4-1/4 percentage points and reducing our balance sheet holdings.”

While noting that “we have seen a decline in some measures of inflation” in recent months, Michelle Bowman noted:

We still have a lot of work to do, so I expect the FOMC to continue to raise interest rates to tighten monetary policy.