Biden’s Crypto Executive Order Mentions Risk 47 Times, Opportunities Only Twice – Trustnodes

In an indication of this administration’s approach to cryptos, risk is mentioned 47 times in the executive order, while opportunities is mentioned four times: twice in regards to mitigating risk, and only twice in a proper sense.

Innovation is mentioned 12 times, but capital, as in capital formation, is not mentioned once.

Business is mentioned 17 times, but almost always in regards to “protecting” businesses.

The executive order does make it clear the administration wants to promote “responsible” innovation, but the vibe overall is one of an almost total focus on risk.

“This is all about the future of the payments system in this country, the future of credit creation, commercial banking,” a senior administration official said on background.

Yet banking is mentioned only twice in a proper sense. “Many Americans are underbanked and the costs of cross-border money transfers and payments are high. The United States has a strong interest in promoting responsible innovation that expands equitable access to financial services, particularly for those Americans underserved by the traditional banking system,” the order says.

Credit is not mentioned once. Commerce is mentioned only in regards to the Secretary of Commerce. Stocks or bonds find no mention as the whole raw innovation that promises to upgrade finance from paper to code appears to have been overlooked save for lip paying service.

All indicating the focus is completely skewed in this order that directs pretty much the entire government to produce numerous reports primarily on risks and on “the conditions that drive broad adoption of digital assets.”

“We know the implications for national security, our ability to show leadership in setting global payment standards for privacy and security, but also… potentially influencing the growth of private cryptocurrencies that we know are growing to a material scale,” a senior administration official said.

The work of making Washington DC gain a broader understanding of crypto thus has just began with the Biden administration previously complaining they did not have any crypto expertise.

Something that shows and very clearly in this executive order which is very symbolic of an incredibly risk-averse culture that can not see opportunities even while it stares on its face.