White House Reportedly Planning Crypto Regulation As Matter of ‘National Security'

The Biden Administration is reportedly planning a sweeping executive order aimed at the crypto industry.

According to a report from Barron’s, President Biden will issue a memorandum that assigns certain government bodies to research and create a regulatory framework for crypto, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and stablecoins.

A source familiar with the situation said:

“This is designed to look holistically at digital assets and develop a set of policies that give coherency to what the government is trying to do in this space.”

Barron’s source said that there was a focus on “harmonizing” regulations on a global scale to create synchronization among countries that all have different stances on the sector.

Government entities expected to be involved are The State Department, Treasury Department, Council of Economic Advisers, National Economic Council, and the White House National Security Council.

Barron’s report comes after a series of rumors in past weeks regarding the White House moving to regulate crypto. Last week, Bloomberg reported that the Biden Administration planned to release a “government-wide strategy” on digital assets as soon as next month.

“Meanwhile, the directive would also require other agencies to weigh in — carving out roles for everyone from the State Department to the Commerce Department. Some of those tasks will be meant to ensure that the U.S. remains competitive as the world increasingly adopts digital assets.

The administration’s plan, including the directives in the order, could be further modified before it’s finalized, the people cautioned.”

The Federal Reserve also released a full report weighing out the pros and cons of digital money and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) last week. The central bank didn’t take a direct position on CBDCs, but had a generally open-minded outlook on their implications.

“As such, [a CBDC] could provide a safe foundation for private-sector innovations to meet current and future needs and demands for payment services. All options for private digital money, including stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies, require mechanisms to reduce liquidity risk and credit risk."