The White House has announced that Vice President Joe Biden will sign an executive order on cryptocurrency and digital assets.
London, Wednesday, 09 March 2022
According to a White House statement released on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden will sign an executive order supporting responsible innovation in digital assets and cryptocurrencies.
According to the release, the order will outline "the first ever, whole-of-government approach to managing the dangers and leveraging the potential benefits of digital assets and their underlying technologies."
Consumer and investor protection, financial stability, illicit finance, US leadership in the global financial system and economic competitiveness, financial inclusion, and responsible innovation will all be covered by the strategy.
According to the statement, "about 16 percent of adult Americans — approximately 40 million people – have invested in, traded, or used cryptocurrencies."
The instruction will also entail looking at creating a "Central Bank Digital Currency" (CBDC) by prioritizing research and development.
According to the White House, over 100 countries are studying or piloting CBDCs, a digital equivalent of a country's sovereign currency.
In a separate statement, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said, "President Biden's historic executive order calls for a coordinated and comprehensive approach to digital asset policy."
The Treasury Department will collaborate with other US agencies to create a report on the future of money and payment systems, according to Yellen.
Following the announcements, the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies increased.
Bitcoin, the world's most valuable cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was trading at $42,136 at 7 a.m. (1200 GMT), up 8% on the day.
Ethereum, the world's most valuable altcoin by market capitalization, rose 6.1 percent to $2,746.
According to data from digital asset price-tracking website CoinMarketCap, the overall value of the cryptocurrency market was $1.85 trillion at the time, up 5.9% on the day.
(Written and edited by: The Decision Maker)