The US President Biden signs the Executive Order on digital assets
The US President Joe Biden, signed the executive order that is addressing issues around digital assets. Digital Assets is a joint term for cryptocurrencies, blockchain issued tokens, and other digital objects (such as NFTs) traded or exchanged over the internet.
In this document, the White House acknowledges the digital assets as an innovative technology that will help development of financial markets. Additionally, president Biden instructed the national agencies to come up with a regulatory framework to explore the possibilities and challenges related to digital assets. It particularly puts a focus on consumer protection and economic competitiveness of the US finance system.
Furthermore, the Executive Order recognises the importance of CBDCs, mentioning that over 100 countries are exploring or piloting Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). This Order directs the government agencies to further explore technology behind it.
As mentioned in the Executive Order, the US national policy for digital assets will be focused on the following key priorities:
- Consumer and investor protection
- Financial stability
- Illicit finance
- The US leadership in the global financial system and economic competitiveness
- Financial inclusion
- Responsible innovation
The White House outlined that the order calls for measures to: ‘Promote U.S. Leadership in Technology and Economic Competitiveness to Reinforce U.S. Leadership in the Global Financial System by directing the Department of Commerce to work across the U.S. Government in establishing a framework to drive U.S. competitiveness and leadership in, and leveraging of digital asset technologies’
This Order comes after a full year of uncertainty around the digital asset regulation in the US, putting to an end speculation about the harsher regulation, or even ban of cryptocurrencies. The US will encourage