Washington — price
It surged Wednesday as crypto advocates cheered President Biden’s executive order directing agencies across the federal government to consider New regulations for cryptocurrency.
The order, titled “Ensuring the Responsible Development of Digital Assets,” outlined the risks that cryptocurrencies pose to the economy, national security and the climate, while also noting their potential benefits.
It also asks agencies to review the possibility of issuing a digital version of the dollar, and instruct the Department of Justice to assess whether it would require new legislation and possibly prepare such legislation. Some central banks around the world I tried With the concept of keeping up with private sector payments innovations, the Federal Reserve has already done I started to rate Possibility.
With details of the executive order leaking overnight, the price of Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, rose by nearly 10%. The price of Bitcoin was $42,102 at midday Wednesday.
Crypto advocates have welcomed the absence of any imminent federal action in the system and its recognition of positive elements to the industry, such as promoting innovation and financial inclusion.
“We applaud the White House for recognizing this is a defining moment for American innovation on the global stage,” said Faryar Shirzad, chief policy officer at the largest US cryptocurrency exchange.
Coinbase Global company ,
in the thread of tweets.
“We look forward to continuing our work with regulators and lawmakers,” he said.
Valkyrie Funds CEO Leah Wald said she expects the matter will lead to regulations that will help the industry grow even more. “Clarity stimulates adoption, and adoption leads to growth,” she said. Her company sells exchange-traded funds that focus on crypto.
Crypto industry fought intense pressure campaign Over the past year to fend off stricter regulation of digital assets. A report released this week by Public Citizen, a progressive advocacy group, said the number of crypto lobbyists has nearly tripled in recent years, from 115 in 2018 to 320 in 2021. Lobbying expenditures in the sector have risen to 9 million $2.2 million dollars.
Crypto skeptics see the executive order as a step backwards.
Lee Reiners, executive director of the Duke University School of Law’s Center for Global Financial Markets, said he would likely delay any subsequent policy decisions until after the November midterm elections. In most cases, the White House gives agencies at least 180 days to produce their reports.
“In the lead up to this executive order, the narrative that circulated was that the administration was on the verge of cracking down on cryptocurrencies,” Reiners said.
“This executive order is a full 180 of that,” he said. “This is as close to embracing crypto as you would hope from the Biden administration, if you are a crypto supporter.”
Financial regulators have already been studying cryptocurrencies for years. The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued guidance in 2014 on cryptocurrency payment systems. The Securities and Exchange Commission has taken dozens of enforcement actions against individuals and entities in the sector, while the Commodity Futures Trading Commission created an initiative to study cryptocurrency and other technological innovations in 2017.
A senior administration official noted that the White House has held a number of “Crypto Sunday” events to gather feedback from stakeholders while preparing the executive order. A White House spokeswoman did not immediately respond to questions about the events, such as how many events were held or who was involved.
Here’s what SEC President Gary Gensler said Many cryptocurrencies should be regulated Such as securities such as stocks and bonds, which may include strict disclosure requirements from issuers. The crypto firms pushed to oversee the CFTC, believing that it would be easier to comply with it.
Matt Klushnik, partner at law firm Mayer Brown, said Biden’s executive order was unlikely to resolve such questions.
“Instead of providing guidance as to who regulates what, it calls for research, evaluation and coordination within established deadlines,” Mr. Kloschenk said. “Many market participants were hoping for a more specific direction.”
Industry lobbyists say regulation is too harsh would risk paying More cryptocurrency market abroad. Some law enforcement and national security officials are reluctant to discourage the use of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, saying they allow transactions to be more easily tracked than cash.
Sigal Mandelker, a former Trump administration treasury official who is now a general partner of
Ribet CapitalAnd the
Venture capital company investing in cryptocurrency. “The president’s acknowledgment of this is an essential step in that direction.”
But investor supporters worry that the executive order will give an opportunity to relax existing regulations.
“Perhaps Silicon Valley and their army of new lobbies are fearing the worst, and instead the White House is rolling out a welcome mat,” said Tyler Gelash, executive director of the Health Markets Association, a trade group for investors. “Politicians and lobbyists are likely to use this as an opening line to try to rewrite the securities, commodities and banking laws under the guise of better regulation of cryptocurrency.”
—Caitlin Ostrov contributed to this article.
write to Paul Kiernan at [email protected] and Andrew Dohren at [email protected]
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