The Biden administration finally signed and released the long-awaited crypto executive order after months of speculation. The Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets requires various government agencies in the United States to coordinate and consolidate policy on a national framework for crypto.
The majority of the people inside the crypto industry are saying the executive order is a huge move in the right direction.
A Watershed Moment
President Biden’s executive order has caused a lot of uncertainty within the crypto sphere ever since it was announced back in October. Most people feared that the order would call for a multi-pronged regulatory clampdown on crypto assets.
It’s safe to say that industry leaders have been pleasantly surprised.
Crucially, the order authorizes the creation of a coordinated government approach to prevent crypto’s use in illicit activities, all while bolstering innovation and cementing the US’s “technological leadership in this rapidly growing space”.
Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire notes that the Biden administration’s move to use a “whole-of-government approach to at once harness opportunities while controlling and mitigating inherent risks in responsible innovation is encouraging”.
Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of blockchain payments startup Ripple, tweeted that the executive order marks a key inflection point and makes it clear: “Crypto is here to stay”.
The White House finally says what we and the industry have been saying for years – if the US wants to maintain its status as a responsible tech leader, it needs to provide a clear regulatory framework for an industry that’s exploding in growth (40M Americans and counting!).
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) March 9, 2022
Kathryn Haun, a general partner at Andreesen Horowitz and Justice Department’s prosecutor for the infamous Silk Road case, echoed Garlinghouse’s sentiment.
“Today’s EO is a step in the right direction for some American leadership in web3 and could bring order to what’s become a sorely fragmented regulatory landscape,” Haun said. “We’re especially encouraged it directs all agencies to partner with experts *outside* govt as they work to define policy.”
Coinbase exchange’s chief policy officer Faryar Shirzad is also optimistic about the White House establishing a regulatory framework for the crypto community as well as the American public.
Biden’s Executive Order A Boon For Crypto Miners
Besides the promise for regulatory clarity in the crypto industry, other experts believe the executive order could also benefit crypto miners.
A strategist from American multinational investment bank Jefferies, Jonathan Peterson, said in a note to clients:
“We believe the fact that the U.S. government is now more formally recognizing, engaging with, and seemingly supporting the digital asset industry will be a positive for public crypto mining companies.”
Peterson observed the disparity between the United States and China, which last year issued a blanket ban on cryptocurrency mining and forced miners to migrate to friendlier jurisdictions.
According to the analyst, the EO is another sign that “the regulatory environment in the U.S. is more supportive of miners and cryptocurrencies.”
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