Most of the responses to Joe Biden’s crypto executive order are due next week

The bulk of agency responses to President Biden’s executive order are coming due soon.  

Per the March 9 order, seven reports from agencies are due to the White House 120 days after the release of the order, putting their deadline at September 5, the day after Labor Day. Labor Day is a US federal holiday. 

The executive order emphasizes the need for interagency cooperation, but the orders and their spearheading agencies break down as follows: 

• The Treasury: A report on a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, with a particular interest in cooperation with the Federal Reserve. CBDCs have become a surprisingly contentious topic in Washington since the release of the Executive Order. 
• The Office of Science and Technology: A technical analysis of the difficulty and likelihood of implementing a CBDC.
• The Justice Department: A legal assessment of whether Congress needs to put out new law in order to issue a CBDC — which Republicans have adamantly insisted is the case.
• The Treasury and the major markets and consumer protections regulators: a report on the risks and rewards of digital assets in markets and payments.
• Office of Science and Technology Policy: a report on crypto’s role in energy transitions across timespans. The issue is controversial, with crypto critics frequently pointing to proof-of-work mining as an inexcusable waste of electricity. Crypto stakeholders say PoW can monetize the development of renewable energy sources.
• The Justice Department, with the help of the Treasury and the Department of Homeland Security: The role of law enforcement agencies in “detecting, investigating, and prosecuting criminal activity related to digital assets.” The Department of Justice’s FBI, the Treasury’s IRS-Criminal Investigations, and the Department of Homeland Security have spearheaded the bulk of major cryptocurrency investigations federally.
• Commerce Department: A framework for enhancing United States economic competitiveness in, and leveraging of, digital asset technologies.

Some responses to the Executive Order have already been submitted. Two from the Department of Justice and from the Treasury in particular were focused on the international angle.

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