The whole crypto industry is tired of being ignored by the US government. Some companies decided to take matters into their own hands and started lobbying on behalf of the crypto community. The recently formed BA PAC organization formed by representatives of Kraken and FTX will focus on political giving to push for more transparent and effective regulations of crypto assets in the US financial market.
However, their efforts will be futile if the US government won’t recognize digital assets. It seems that the first important move has been made by President Biden.
The framework is established
In March 2021, President Biden issued an executive order instructing several federal agencies to conduct a thorough examination of the crypto industry and scrutinize the potential advantages and downsides of cryptocurrencies in general. The executive order identified multiple priorities with the inclusion of consumer protection, promoting financial stability, countering money laundering efforts, and bringing innovative solutions to the table.
The new framework instructs the Treasury to conduct its investigation into the world of crypto finances and find potential ways for illicit activities and countermeasures. SEC is already working in this direction, but efforts must be more concentrated and deliberate. It is a good thing for federal agencies to focus on over $1 billion lost to various scammers and Ponzi schemes in 2021 alone.
Another critical point is the issue of the digital US dollar. A CBDC is something that has been on the table for a while. Authors of the framework say that the arrival of the digital US dollar would erase the necessity of stablecoins and even cryptocurrencies. Currently, we have USDT, USDC, and some other USD-pegged tokens.
The framework is imperfect but it is a step in the right direction
The last main thesis of the framework is that all new policies must focus on preserving the industry’s financial stability. It means that coins must have better infrastructures behind them with significantly more robust cyber safety measures.
While it is good that we are starting a serious conversation, the notion that the US will make its citizens use the new CBDC to essentially get rid of cryptocurrencies is something that sounds short-sighted and goes against other points of the framework.