Biden FOMOs into crypto and with wide-ranging executive order

Crypto is the future, whether the White House likes it or not.

That's the takeaway from an executive order on digital assets announced Wednesday morning. The broad document touches on a possible central bank digital currency, reducing the environmental impact of blockchain-dependent products, and, of course, potential additional cryptocurrency regulations.

Its resigned tone suggests the Biden administration knows which way the speculative winds are blowing.

"Digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, have seen explosive growth in recent years, surpassing a $3 trillion market cap last November and up from $14 billion just five years prior," reads the executive order in part. "Surveys suggest that around 16 percent of adult Americans – approximately 40 million people – have invested in, traded, or used cryptocurrencies."

Secretary Anthony Blinked also shared the news on Twitter.

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Notably, the order presents a cautious view of the ongoing financial experiment that digital assets represent. The White House is, understandably, nervous.

"The rise in digital assets creates an opportunity to reinforce American leadership in the global financial system and at the technological frontier, but also has substantial implications for consumer protection, financial stability, national security, and climate risk," warns the executive order.

In other words, in the eyes of the White House, this whole crypto thing could go either way. And so, in an effort to make sure it breaks the way the Biden administration wants, the executive order calls on the Financial Stability Oversight Council to "identify and mitigate economy-wide (i.e., systemic) financial risks posed by digital assets" and the Department of Commerce to "work across the U.S. Government in establishing a framework to drive U.S. competitiveness and leadership in, and leveraging of digital asset technologies."

Interestingly, both cryptocurrency boosters and skeptics found something to like in the order.

Faryar Shirzad, Coinbase's chief policy officer, expressed "reasons for optimism" in a Wednesday morning Twitter thread.

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"The White House seems to understand and embrace the transformational potential of digital asset technology, and the importance of maintaining American leadership," he wrote in part.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, who has long been a critic of the cryptocurrency industry, had a somewhat different take, and offered additional insight as to why the Biden administration may now be taking addition steps due to crypto's role in Russia's war in Ukraine.

"I've been ringing the alarm bell on crypto, from consumer protection to the environment to national security—especially since Russian elites can use digital assets to undermine sanctions," wrote Sen. Warren. "@POTUS is right to spotlight crypto’s risks and we need strong rules before it's too late.

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Whether anything concrete comes out of Wednesday's order is still very much unclear. It does, however, suggest that the Biden administration's time largely on the cryptocurrency sidelines is officially over.