The Treasury Department officials opine that more education on crypto investment would be more helpful.
Treasury Department in the United States is starting a new campaign to increase awareness about the dangers of investing in digital assets.
According to a top Treasury Department official, the move comes as the asset class transforms from a specialized industry to a mainstream investment, potentially attracting less knowledgeable investors.
The Treasury Department’s “Financial Literacy Education Commission” is working on instructional materials to explain how cryptocurrency works and how it differs from traditional assets.
The target population, according to Nellie Liang, Treasury undersecretary for domestic finance, is persons who have limited access to conventional financial services. She explained:
“We’re hearing more and more about investors and households who are purchasing crypto assets, and we recognize the complexity of how some of these assets operate.”
More education and awareness, Liang suggested, “would be useful” in this area.
Better financial literacy and education are beneficial to the public, as there has been criticism that regulators’ current focus on “protecting” consumers has resulted in the exclusion of underprivileged populations from crypto wealth-building prospects.
The creator of The National Policy Network of Women of Color in Blockchain, Cleve Mesidor, recently told Cointelegraph Magazine:
“If they were more focused on financial literacy and skills training and workforce training, that would be acceptable, but they are mostly focused on consumer protectionism.”
The Securities and Exchange Commission is among the 20 agencies that make up the new education division. Regulators’ fears about the risks involved with crypto investing may be alleviated by the initiative, which might boost their ongoing goal to safeguard investors from sector scams.
The Treasury Department looks to be adopting a proactive stance on the issue, recognizing that digital assets could provide further benefits for cross-border payment or financial inclusion. Liang continued:
“We’re just trying to raise awareness without trying to stamp out new technology and new innovation.”
President Joe Biden of the United States is expected to issue an executive order this week outlining the government’s plan for dealing with crypto assets. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen accidentally leaked details of the directive today, which also directs the Justice Department, Treasury, and other agencies to investigate the legal and economic implications of producing central bank digital money (CBDC).
Governmental departments aren’t the only ones involved in educational programs. LeBron James, the NBA’s most valuable player, teamed up with Crypto.com in January to create an education campaign aimed at teaching students in his hometown of Akron about cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
Paxful, a peer-to-peer (P2P) platform, opened “La Casa Del Bitcoin,” a new educational and training center in El Salvador, in February, according to Coinscreed. “La Casa Del Bitcoin” will give free learning opportunities connected to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
Leading crypto firms have boosted their lobbying on Capitol Hill in the last year, demonstrating the importance of education. Companies like Ripple Labs and Coinbase have been stepping up their attempts to “teach” lawmakers about the industry and the technology that underpins it.
