On March 9, 2022, President Biden signed the “Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets.” This order sets the principal policy objectives of the Administration regarding digital assets and their respective technologies. Among the policy objectives of the Administration are the protection of consumers and investors, maintaining financial system integrity and stability, prevention of crime and illicit finance, and reinforcing US leadership in the global financial system.
This executive order directs multiple federal regulatory agencies to use interagency processes in investigating, assessing, and reporting on the risk digital assets pose to current financial and regulatory systems. The order also directs agencies to investigate and report on the feasibility of establishing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). It defines a CBDC as “a form of digital money or monetary value, denominated in the national unit of account, that is a direct liability of the central bank.”
The order is broad in scope and outlines specific instructions, considerations, and reporting requirements for individual governmental agencies.