The White House released a statement on Jan. 27 that provided the United States President Joe Biden administration a roadmap for mitigating risks associated with cryptocurrencies. Much of the document was addressed to the U.S. Congress with the administration’s legislative guidance. The authors of the statement outlined a two-pronged path forward. They wrote: “We have spent the past year identifying the risks of cryptocurrencies and acting to mitigate them using the authorities that the Executive Branch has.” The first element in the road map is the administration’s “first-ever” comprehensive framework for digital asset development released in September. That document was …

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried met with government officials at the White House on at least four separate occasions in 2022, and reportedly a meeting just two months before the fall of his crypto empire. Most of the meetings were disclosed in visitor logs which are posted by the White House every month, showing that Bankman-Fried had met with Counselor to the President Steve Ricchetti on Apr. 22, 2022 and May. 12, 2022 along with another meeting on May 13 meeting with policy advisor Charlotte Butash However, according to a Dec. 29 Bloomberg report, the former FTX CEO also met …

White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, declined to answer questions from a reporter on whether United States president Joe Biden will return the $5.2 million in campaign donations previously given by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. “Will the president return that donation?” Associated Press reporter Zeke Miller asked in a Dec. 13 press briefing, “does he call on all politicians who got campaign donations that may have come from customer money to return those funds?” “I'm covered here by the Hatch Act,” Jean-Pierre responded, adding she was “limited on what I can say.” ”Anything that's connected to political contributions, from here …

The White House said the Biden administration was monitoring the situation with the recent crypto market crash but deferred to independent regulators for any potential enforcement actions. In a Nov. 10 press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said United States President Joe Biden was aware of the ongoing situation with the crypto market, hinting at FTX's liquidity crisis. According to the press secretary, the administration and financial agencies will “closely monitor” developments. “The administration [...] has consistently maintained that without proper oversight, cryptocurrencies risk harming everyday Americans,” said Jean-Pierre. “The most recent news further underscores these concerns and …

The White House released its first comprehensive framework this month for the Responsible Development of Digital Assets following President Joe Biden’s March 9 executive order. The order called for regulators to assess the industry and develop recommendations to safeguard investors while simultaneously promoting innovation. While more work is needed, the framework is a step in the right direction as it shows the willingness of regulators to provide the industry with the much-needed regulatory clarity it seeks. The framework’s recommendations addressed six key areas to protect market participants, offer access to financial services, and promote innovation. While Biden’s administration has focused …

As directed by the President of the United States, Joe Biden, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) submitted a report analyzing the design choices for 18 central bank digital currency (CBDC) systems for possible implementation in the US. The technical analysis of the 18 CBDC design choices was made across six broad categories — participants, governance, security, transactions, data and adjustments. The OSTP foresees technical complexities and practical limitations when trying to build a permissionless system governed by a central bank, adding: “It is possible that the technology underpinning a permissionless approach will improve significantly over time, which …

Members of the crypto space and advocacy groups reacted to United States President Joe Biden’s administration releasing a regulatory framework on digital assets, with many suggesting the White House focused on the potential negative aspects of crypto. In a Friday announcement, the White House said that federal agencies and departments had submitted 9 reports as required by Biden’s executive order on crypto from March. Among the information in the fact sheet included policy objectives for a U.S. central bank digital currency, ways to mitigate the possible impact of crypto’s energy usage on the climate, and regulatory aims for enforcement actions, …

Following United States President Joe Biden’s executive order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets, federal agencies came up with a joint fact sheet on six principal directions for the crypto regulation in the U.S. It sums up the content of nine separate reports, which have been submitted to the President to “articulate a clear framework for responsible digital asset development and pave the way for further action at home and abroad.” The fact sheet was published on the White House official website on Sept. 16, and consists of seven sections: (1) Protecting Consumers, Investors, and Businesses; (2) Promoting Access …

US government officials who privately own cryptocurrencies are now banned from working on regulations and policies that could affect the value of digital assets. A new advisory notice released by the US Office of Government Ethics (OGE) on Tuesday stated that the de minimis exemption — which allows for the owners of securities who hold an amount below a certain threshold to work on policy related to that security — is universally inapplicable when it comes to cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. “As a result, an employee who holds any amount of a cryptocurrency or stablecoin may not participate in a particular …

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, has released its Fiscal Year 2023 (FY2023) budget request, seeking $365 million. This marks a 9.9% increase over the previous year and 20% over FY2021. The commission regulates the country’s derivatives market and has been increasingly active in recent years in policing financial products that incorporate cryptocurrencies. According to the agency’s request document, the CTFC focuses on digital asset custodian risk, ensuring secure storage, as well as on accounting. The agency has its own staff of certified public due to the lack of guidance on digital asset accounting from sectoral oversight bodies. …

United States President Joe Biden’s Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets was widely praised for acknowledging cryptocurrency and blockchain technology’s place in the world and setting the U.S. on a path toward more comprehensive regulation of the sector. The order, or EO, sets a research agenda that encompasses consumer protection, financial stability, crime and national security, U.S. leadership, servicing the underbanked and responsible development. With a number of reports being commissioned for delivery over the course of months and no specific actions prescribed, it is impossible to gauge the effect the order will ultimately have on the …

The United States government’s budget for the 2023 fiscal year included roughly $11 billion in revenue over the next decade from modernizing rules around digital assets. According to U.S. President Joe Biden’s FY2023 budget released by the White House on Monday, modifying tax rules on digital assets will reduce the deficit by $10.9 billion from 2023 to 2032. The White House said it will “modernize rules” to include certain taxpayers reporting holdings of digital assets in foreign accounts, amending mark-to-market rules to include digital assets, and requiring financial institutions and crypto brokers to report additional information. In addition, it proposed …