US President Joe Biden likely to issue order on cryptocurrency regulation this week: Report

This week, US President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order outlining the federal government’s digital asset policy.

According to various reports, the US government is attempting to regulate bitcoin. This week, US President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order outlining the federal government’s digital asset policy.

According to Yahoo Finance, the executive order issued this week will direct agencies across the government, including the Departments of Treasury, State, Justice, and Homeland Security, to research cryptocurrencies and a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and develop a government strategy to regulate digital assets.

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In August of last year, White House officials began working on a centralized approach for cryptocurrencies.

Bloomberg revealed the development news last month, citing individuals familiar with the situation. According to the article, senior administration officials have attended many talks on the idea, which is being prepared as an executive order. The directive places the White House at the core of Washington’s attempts to deal with cryptocurrencies.

Over the last several years, federal agencies have adopted a scattershot strategy to online assets, and Biden’s staff is under pressure to take the lead on the subject. Industry executives frequently complain about what they see as a lack of clarity in US laws, while others are concerned that China’s and other countries’ support of government-backed coinage will risk the dollar’s dominance.

The move in the United States comes as Bitcoin, the world’s largest and most popular cryptocurrency, fell about 1.9 percent to $37,673. So far in 2022 (year-to-date or YTD), Bitcoin is down approximately 19 percent, but it is still more than 46 percent off its all-time high of near $69,000 set in November 2021.

Bitcoin fell to a more than two-week low as worries of a Russian invasion of Ukraine spurred some analysts to forecast that the largest cryptocurrency might go below the critical $30,000 mark. Over the weekend, the cryptocurrency fell below $40,000 and continued to fall as the Ukraine situation worsened, contradicting the premise that cryptocurrencies are a safe haven in times of global uncertainty.

According to a separate Bloomberg article, the cryptocurrency policy launch was pushed back due to a disagreement between White House officials and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen over the scope of a planned executive order that might include a digital dollar.