White House Weighs Wide-Ranging Push For Crypto Oversight

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: The Biden administration is weighing an executive order on cryptocurrencies as part of an effort to set up a government-wide approach to the white-hot asset class, according to people familiar with the matter. The proposed directive would charge federal agencies to study and offer recommendations on relevant areas of crypto -- touching on financial regulation, economic innovation and national security. The initiative will also aim to coordinate agencies' work on digital currencies throughout the executive branch. The plan would push departments that have given scant attention to crypto to focus on it. Officials have also considered appointing a White House crypto czar to act as a point person on the issue, one person said. The draft directive is part of an effort by the White House to craft a sweeping strategy for digital tokens, which have become a growing concern for regulators as they've become wildly popular with average Americans. No decision has been made on whether to release the executive order, two of the people said. Even if President Joe Biden doesn't move forward on it, the administration will still make public its overall strategy for cryptocurrencies, an administration official said. [...] The draft, which has been circulating among senior officials and regulators, would clarify the responsibilities of various agencies and task them with examining relevant topics and reporting back on their findings. The framework would touch a range of bureaucracies, from the Treasury Department and financial regulators to the Commerce Department, the National Science Foundation and national security agencies. Whether it's ultimately done by executive order or another means, the goal of the White House is to take a unified approach to crypto, rather than the more ad hoc approach to financial stability, national security and illicit finance issues during Biden's first nine months in office. The administration also wants relevant agencies to examine crypto in other policy areas, including consumer protection, competition policy, research and innovation, the official said.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Click here to read full news..