• The White House is working on an official directive exploring the benefits and risks of crypto assets, according to Bloomberg.
• The order will reportedly cover the prospects of a CBDC or digital dollar, among other digital asset matters.

The Biden administration is reportedly working on an executive order on crypto to be released as early as next month.

According to a recent report by Bloomberg, the White House directive will introduce a government-wide strategy that looks into the benefits and risks of digital assets. Presently, no official communication has been made on the order. However, various senior administration officials have been reportedly holding meetings to discuss the same. They are expected to present President Joe Biden with a draft of the plan in the upcoming weeks.

Of note, the framework being developed by the Biden administration is said to cover a central bank digital currency (CBDC), in this case, a digital dollar. Last week, the Fed released a White Paper on the same but asserted that it has no intentions of proceeding with the project without affirmation by the White House and Congress. 

US lawmakers and crypto laws

Regulating the crypto industry is a painstaking venture without a legal framework, one which the US lacks. In the past, different lawmakers and politicians have called on regulatory measures, though with different opinions of how they should be framed. For instance, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis has said positive regulation could work to benefit the industry. Others, such as Senator Elizabeth Warren, have been more critical of crypto miners, exchanges, and digital assets in general, calling them a “lousy investment.” She has urged a clampdown of the industry, saying it supports decentralized finance (DeFi). The latter, in her opinion, is “one of the shadiest parts of the crypto world.” 

Mid last month, Senate held a hearing on stablecoins, depicting numerous conflicting opinions on their benefits, risks, and regulation. The likes of Senator Patrick Toomey said the digital coins increase transaction speed and access to payment systems while cutting down on transaction costs. On the other hand, opposers such as Senator Sherrod Brown, called stablecoins “wild financial speculation,” saying the risk of losing all investors’ money.

Further notes

At the moment, only Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) have been cleared as commodities. Investments related to them are therefore overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Other crypto assets have been left in limbo, somehow unsure whether the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will go after them for non-compliance. 

An ongoing lawsuit between the regulator and Ripple might clarify matters further for the crypto industry. Lawyers who are part of the XRP community speculate that the case will come to a close early this year, with Ripple and XRP on the winning end. SEC Chair Gary Gensler recently attempted to provide some clarity on the same, saying all crypto projects that raised money fall under the securities laws.

Other nations that are also holding discussions on proposed crypto laws include Russia and India. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is more advanced here, having set up regulatory bodies while supporting the development of a crypto hub in Dubai.