US President Joe Biden is expected to sign a crypto order this week as industry faces sanctions pressure, reports Bloomberg citing anonymous people familiar with the matter.
- The new executive order will outline the U.S. government’s future strategy for cryptocurrencies.
- According to the report, the executive order will direct federal agencies such as the U.S. SEC to examine potential regulatory changes, as well as the national security and economic impact of crypto assets.
- The White House’s approach to crypto has attracted fresh attention in recent weeks as Washington and its allies have levied sanctions on Russia, prompting concerns that firms and individuals there could use crypto to evade the restrictions.
- 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.
- Biden’s team is under pressure to play more of a coordinating role as industry executives bemoan what they say is a lack of clarity on U.S. rules.
- Meanwhile, the crypto industry is facing intense scrutiny from lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown, over concerns that sanctioned individuals and firms in Russia may be using digital assets to bypass the sanctions.
- Leading crypto exchanges including Binance, Kraken, and Coinbase refused to unilaterally freeze all the crypto accounts of Russian citizens citing it against the values of Bitcoin. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, however, said that the exchange would not preemptively ban all Russian users from its platform, but will do if law requires.
- As Coinbase CEO puts, Crypto is a “lifeline” for “Russians” after collapse of Ruble; which seems somewhat true. Still, some market analysts have questioned how effective a workaround crypto could be, given the limited size of the market.
- Yesterday, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler reiterated the importance of investor protection on crypto exchanges. In a conversation with Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer, Gensler said, “SEC has a role to play in crypto space to protect the public from fraud and manipulation”.
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