US President Joe Biden to Issue an Executive Order on Cryptocurrency This Week

This week, President Joe Biden is All-set to sign an executive order that will outline the U.S government’s strategy for cryptocurrencies reports Reuters.

“The order will direct federal agencies to look at potential changes to regulations, as well as the national security and economic impact of digital assets,” said the people, who asked not to be named discussing the deliberations.

Washington has been paying close attention to cryptocurrencies in recent weeks. This is because Russia has been sanctioned, and some people are concerned that the Russians might use cryptocurrencies to get around these sanctions.

However, the White House declined to comment on this yet.

The order, which has been in the works since last year, will require federal agencies across the government to report later this year what they’re doing regarding digital assets, Bloomberg News has reported. Joe Biden’s team is feeling pressure to be more organized and work together better with industry executives. It is being said, executives are unhappy because they say there is a lack of clarity about its rules in the United States.

Russia Connection

Meanwhile, the crypto industry is coming under close scrutiny from lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown.

They are concerned that Russian individuals and companies that have been sanctioned may use digital assets to evade sanctions.

Bloomberg reports that the Joe Biden order, likely to come on Wednesday, is in response to concerns about the use of cryptocurrencies by Russian elites to circumvent Western sanctions that have cut Russia off from large portions of the global economy, and moves by China and other economies to create their own cryptocurrencies.

Some analysts and officials have also questioned how effective workaround crypto could be, given the limited size of the market.