Biden Signs Executive Order On Managing Digital Assets Space
Biden’s executive order on ‘ensuring responsible development of digital assets’ lays the groundwork for U.S. crypto regulations.
The White House has released the full text of the executive order on digital assets, signed by president Biden, which laid out policy objectives for managing crypto space.
The publication follows a fact sheet describing the order as “outlining the first ever, whole-of-government approach to addressing the risks and harnessing the potential benefits of digital assets and their underlying technology.”
The order addresses several issues, including a strategy to protect consumers and the global financial system, while also preventing crypto’s “misuse” for criminal activities, all while announcing the United States’ role as a leader in technological innovation so Americans who are “underserved by the traditional banking system” can gain more financial access.
Alongside these elements, the White House laid out its plan for assessing the implementation of a central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and rooting out illegal activity.
The bill gives specified U.S. agencies three to seven months to report back to the president on a variety of issues. Intelligence, State Department and Treasury officials have 90 days, for instance, to return a strategy for limiting cryptocurrency’s use in illicit and terrorist financing. The SEC, FTC, and CFTC and other government banking bodies will have 180 days to produce a report recommending consumer protection issues.
It does, however, emphasize an all-of-government approach, calling on new work from the Treasury, Financial Stability Oversight Council, Federal Reserve and national security agencies on relevant portions of the ecosystem.
Over the course of the next four months, government agencies will feedback on what the government sees as the key issues surrounding the space.
Shortly after its release, SEC’s Chair Gary Gensler tweeted his thoughts on the matter. He looks forward to partnering with “colleagues across the government” to accomplish certain goals in the sector. Similar to the White House, he pointed out customers’ protection and guarding against illicit activities as priorities.
Today, @POTUS signed an Executive Order on crypto-assets. I look forward to collaborating with colleagues across the government to achieve important public policy goals: protecting investors & consumers, guarding against illicit activity, & helping ensure financial stability.
