On March 9, 2022, President Joseph Biden, Jr. signed an Executive Order outlining the first ever, whole-of-government approach to protect consumers, financial stability, national security, and address climate risks. The EO aims to address the risks and harness the potential benefits of digital assets and their underlying technology.
The Order lays out a national policy for digital assets across six key priorities. Specifically, the Executive Order calls for measures to:
Protect U.S. consumers, investors, and businesses;
Protect U.S. and global financial stability and mitigate systemic risk;
Mitigate the illicit finance and national security risks posed by the illicit use of digital assets;
Promote U.S. leadership in technology and economic competitiveness to reinforce U.S. Leadership in the global financial system;
Promote equitable access to safe and affordable financial services;
Support technological advances and ensure responsible development and use of digital assets; and
Explore a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
The EO also directs federal banking regulators and a range of agencies to study digital assets, including both risks and potential benefits and to provide recommendations for appropriate regulatory frameworks for digital assets within a prescribed timeframe.
The Executive Order can be found here.
