Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell believes the federal government needs to regulate the cryptocurrency market, but that a blanket ban on Bitcoin (BTC) and other digital assets is not in the cards. Speaking in response to a question from Republican Representative Ted Budd of North Carolina, Powell clarified that a China-style ban on digital assets was not something he’s considering. Rep. Budd’s question came in response to Powell raising doubts about the regulatory status of stablecoins and the central bank’s ongoing deliberations around a so-called “digital dollar.” (In Powell’s view, a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, could perform many of the functions of stablecoins and cryptocurrencies but without the regulatory risk.) “Stablecoins are like money market funds [and] like bank deposits but they’re, to some extent, outside the regulatory perimeter and it’s appropriate they be regulated,” he said. “Same activity, same regulation.”