In the wake of US President Joe Biden’s Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets, federal agencies have produced a joint fact sheet on six major directions for cryptocurrency regulation in the US. the content of nine separate reports, which have been submitted to the President to “articulate a clear framework for the responsible development of digital assets and pave the way for further action at home and abroad.”
The fact sheet was posted on the official White House website on September 16, and consists of seven sections: (1) Protect consumers, investors and businesses; (2) Promote access to safe and affordable financial services; (3) Promote financial stability; (4) Advance responsible innovation; (5) Strengthen our global financial leadership and competitiveness; (6) Fight against illicit financing; (7) Explore a US central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Some of the sections do not contain particularly new information, but instead highlight once again the principles and policies that the Administration of the President has adhered to. For example, to protect consumers and investors, the reports urge regulators – the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission – to “aggressively conduct investigations and enforcement actions against illegal practices in the digital asset space”. At the same time, they say nothing in particular about the segregation of functions of regulators, which remains one of the main regulatory problems in the country.
To promote access to financial services, federal agencies recommend creating a federal framework for non-bank payment providers and encouraging the adoption of instant payment systems such as FedNow, which is scheduled to launch by the Federal Reserve in 2023.
As part of advancing responsible innovation efforts, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), which has recently released a critical report on the climate impacts of crypto mining, will develop a Digital Asset Research and Development Agenda to help to mitigate negative climate impacts. With the same goal, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies will consider increased monitoring of the environmental impacts of digital assets.
Although the fact sheet states that US agencies will “leverage US positions in international organizations to convey US values” related to digital assets, it does not specify exactly how these values differ from the rapidly emerging European regulatory approach. .
The security strategy means that amendments to the Bank Secrecy Act, anti-bribery statutes and laws against unlicensed money transmission are explicitly applied to digital asset service providers, including exchanges and token platforms. non-fungible.
The last section of the fact sheet, but perhaps the most important, is dedicated to the US CBDC. It reveals that the administration has already developed policy goals for a US CBDC system, but further research is needed on the potential technological basis for such a system. Still, the intent seems pretty serious, as Treasury will lead an interagency working group with participation from the Federal Reserve, the National Economic Council, the National Security Council, and the OSTP.
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