Biden Releases Order on Cryptocurrency

The Biden Administration released the “Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets” initiating requests for research from several related regulatory agencies including the U.S. Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, and the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), among others. While not putting forth a specific position on digital assets, the Executive Order outlines the following actions to be taken:

• Requires the U.S. Treasury Department to draft a report on “the future of money and payment systems.”
• Encourages the FSOC to develop policy recommendations and detect regulatory gaps to alleviate “economy-wide (i.e., systemic) financial risks posed by digital assets.”
• Requests agencies, such as the Federal Reserve, to evaluate how the U.S. could issue a central bank digital currency.
• Directs the Treasury Department and other agencies to develop policy recommendations that “address the implications of the growing digital asset sector and changes in financial markets for consumers, investors, businesses, and equitable economic growth.”
• Directs the U.S. Commerce Department to create a framework to address “U.S. leadership in technology and economic competitiveness.”

The order also notes the importance of mitigating risk in illicit finance and national security posed by digital asset use, as well as the importance of working with the international community to respond to such risks.

Click here to read the White House Fact Sheet covering the Executive Order.

Click here to read a client alert from Stradley detailing the Administration’s Executive Order.