Washington sends a positive message about the future of cryptocurrencies
Almost as much for what it says as what it doesn’t, the Biden administration’s executive order on cryptocurrencies has been received favorably by most analysts and those in the community, as well as prompting a spike in the value of bitcoin.
The legislation reflects a fundamentally cautious but optimistic approach, which not only considers the launch of a digital dollar, following in China’s footsteps, but does so without trying to replace cryptocurrencies as we know them today.
Furthermore, it plays down the risks associated with cryptocurrencies, seeing them instead as an opportunity to entrench US financial leadership.
Among the issues addressed in the order are the safety and protection of consumers and investors, financial stability, the possibility that they may contribute to the financing of illicit activities, their impact on US competitiveness, their effect on financial inclusion, and the development of responsible innovation in the field.
In practice, Biden’s move, after much internal discussion on the matter, is simply a coming to terms with the reality of cryptocurrencies, which depend fundamentally on their level of adoption, on the number of people who consider them a useful medium no longer for speculation, but for use as a…
