See What the Crypto Industry is Saying about Biden’s Executive Order

The entire cryptocurrency and digital assets industry had been holding its breath for weeks in anticipation of US President Joe Biden’s executive order on crypto. After much speculation, the order was finally revealed on Wednesday morning to what appeared to be a collective sigh of relief.

A brief overview of Biden’s Crypto Executive Order

The executive order entitled “Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets” essentially tasks government agencies to work together and establish a framework for the regulation of digital assets based broadly around six key objectives:

1. To protect consumers, investors, and businesses in the United States.
2. To protect the United States’ and global financial stability and mitigate systemic risk
3. To mitigate the illicit finance and national security risks posed by misuse of digital assets.
4. To reinforce United States leadership in the global financial system and in technological and economic competitiveness.
5. To promote access to safe and affordable financial services.
6. To support technological advances that promote responsible development and use of digital assets.

The order also discussed a digital dollar or central bank digital currency (CBDC), stating that the Biden administration “places the highest urgency on research and development efforts into the potential design and deployment options of a United States CBDC“.

Industry Reactions to Crypto Executive Order

Initial reactions to the order were mostly positive.

The founder of Circle, Jeremy Allaire called the executive order a “watershed moment” for the crypto, digital assets, and web3, “akin to the 1996/1997 whole of government wake up to the commercial internet”.

Allaire also thinks that the executive order should be viewed as an opportunity for the crypto and digital assets industry to engage with policymakers regarding important issues.

Asheesh Birla General Manager at RippleNet said that he thought the executive order was a “refreshing read” and believes it demonstrates that the US government now sees crypto as “a way to remain a technology leader globally”.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler said that he is looking “forward to collaborating with colleagues across the government to achieve important public policy goals: protecting investors & consumers, guarding against illicit activity, & helping ensure financial stability.”

Cameron Winklevoss of Gemini also described the order as a “watershed moment” which will “allow builders to build onshore” and “ensure that the US remains a leader in crypto”. Regarding the executive order’s reference to illicit activity, Winklevoss said that blockchains’ essential attributes “traceability, auditability, and transparency” make it a more effective tool than fiat to combat crime.

William Mougayar, Chair of the Kin Foundation thought the order was “reminiscent of Clinton years 1997 Framework for E-commerce”.

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Sam Bankman Fried, CEO of FTX called the order “constructive”.

CEO of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse was “pleasantly surprised” by the order and stated that it seemed like it was an “affirmation that crypto is here to stay”. However, Garlinghouse also took the opportunity to criticize the SEC’s approach to regulation, saying that collaboration between government agencies could undo “years of damage done by the SEC’s siloed regulation by enforcement approach”

What do you think of Biden’s order? Leave your thoughts below.