Explained | US President Biden's executive order on digital assets, cryptocurrencies
On March 10, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order that is bound to set the future course of digital assets and cryptocurrencies in the US, with massive implications on a global scale.
Focus on national security, financial stability, and consumer protection
Notably, while the order was pillared on six main themes, some of which prominently include national security, consumer protection, financial inclusion, and responsible innovation, it also addressed the “effect of cryptocurrencies' consensus mechanisms on energy usage, including research into potential mitigating measures and alternative measures of consensus”.
Subsequently, the administration demanded all major government authorities like the Environmental Protection Agency to “provide a detailed submission on the “potential for these technologies to impede or advance efforts to tackle climate change at home and abroad” within the next 180 days.
But, while its standard text may have emphasised proactively addressing illicit financial practices thriving in this domain and the subsequent need for investor safety, financial stability, international coordination, and cooperation, the one area that was significantly, notably, and highlighted with utmost urgency in the order was the development of a potential US CBDC.
The order mentioned the exploration of a "U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) by placing urgency on its research and development, should issuance be deemed in the national interest". Furthermore, it also noted that its research and development should be in keeping with "US participation in multi-country experimentation and also ensure US financial leadership internationally".
It was hard to mask the gravity and exigency the current administration
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