Adeyemo of the Ministry of Finance says the U.S. dollar will remain the dominant currency

US Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adjemo said that despite the growing interest in cryptocurrencies, the U.S. dollar will continue to be the world’s major currency.

“One thing we know is that digital assets provide opportunities for the economy in many ways, but it can present challenges,” Adejemo told CNBC at the Adipec Energy Forum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Tuesday. Hadley Gamble.

“We know that digital assets have the ability to be used by those who want to illegally transfer funds in the system in a way that does not touch the U.S. dollar and we cannot easily see. But we do think it will eventually work. We can work with countries around the world by calling for digital The creators of the assets more closely comply with anti-money laundering rules to deal with this risk.”

“Ultimately, what will drive the dollar’s place in the world is the decision we made in the United States to invest in our economy. The reason people participate in a dollar-based economy… is because they want to invest in the United States,” he continue.

Adejemo said it was because of policy decisions, such as $1 trillion infrastructure package Signed into law on Monday will help “unleash the potential of the US economy” and create investment opportunities for other governments.

“As our economy grows, this is an opportunity for global economic growth. By then, the U.S. dollar will remain the world’s main currency,” he said.

His views echoed the comments made by St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Brad earlier this year. He Be fired Digital assets such as Bitcoin seriously threaten the status of the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency.

President of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiulina Said According to Reuters, last week the company will launch a prototype of the digital ruble platform early next year. Nabiullina stated that Russia will conduct a pilot test before making a final decision on the launch of the digital currency.

In early June, Nabiullina said in an interview with CNBC Said She predicts that as the economy becomes online, digital currencies will play a key role in the future of the financial system.

Many central banks around the world are developing sovereign digital currencies, which advocates say can promote financial inclusion and make cross-border transactions easier.

When asked whether the prospects of the digital ruble would reduce the effects of U.S. sanctions, Adejemo replied: “We believe that even if the digital ruble or other digital currencies are in place, our sanctions may still have an impact on it. It’s just that. Because the global economy is still interconnected.”

“Russian companies are still doing a lot of business all over the world. A lot of the business is done in U.S. dollars, and this is in cooperation with American financial institutions, because the U.S. economy is still the world’s largest economy,” he said. .

“As long as this is the case, as long as we have made the necessary investments, we still have the ability to use our sanctions system to ensure that we prevent it from being created to prevent things, which are illegal financing through the system, and to hold those who take our national security accountable The responsibility of the person for the measures not considered.”

In recent years, Washington has imposed sanctions on Russia for a variety of reasons, from suspected poisoning of opposition politicians to election interference and cyber attacks.

Adeyemo’s comments supplement an October report from the Treasury Department that may have some impact on U.S. cryptocurrency sanctions. According to reports, he told the Senate committee last month: “The advent of cryptocurrency has made sanctions more difficult to take effect.”

— CNBC’s Abigail Ng contributed to this report.