In this episode of FRT, Carole House, Director of Cybersecurity and Secure Digital Innovation at the White House National Security Council, and Christopher Giancarlo, former Chairman of the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission and founder of the Digital Dollar Foundation, discuss U.S. President Biden’s Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets.

The Order, the first to focus exclusively on the growing digital assets market, calls for a “whole-of-government” approach to digital assets. The Order mandates relevant federal agencies over the coming months to coordinate their review of key digital asset policy and regulation dossiers and to produce multiple reports and studies, culminating in legislative proposals, including on a potential USD central bank digital currency (CBDC) should its issuance be deemed appropriate and in the national interest.

The work agenda is broadly organized around six priorities identified by the White House: consumer and investor protection, financial stability and systemic risk, addressing illicit finance, U.S. leadership in the global financial system and economic competitiveness, financial inclusion, and responsible innovation.

We expect the Order will dramatically increase the pace and breadth of work by the U.S. Government on the digital asset agenda, and have broken out the action items, timelines, and responsibilities outlined in a Briefing Note for our members. Carole and Chris share observations regarding the comprehensiveness of the Order, the range of agencies involved, and developments in digital asset regulation globally.