US Treasury Report Details Crypto Regulation Framework

The United States Treasury Department has turned over a report to President Joe Biden detailing an international-level framework to address the risks and benefits of digital assets.

Treasury Leads Interagency Effort 

The Treasury report was required under the directives issued by President Biden’s executive order. On Thursday, the department announced that it had delivered the report, which charted a framework for international engagement on the subject of digital assets. The Treasury Department has adopted an inter-agency approach to deal with the risks and benefits of crypto regulation. The Treasury consulted with other departments and lawmaking entities within the Government of the United States, like the U.S. Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, to develop the framework. The Treasury Department has also stated that the intention behind the report was to encourage the budding digital assets industry without losing sight of the country’s core democratic values. It also focused on maintaining the integrity of the global financial and international monetary systems. 

Biden’s Executive Order

In March 2022, President Biden signed an executive order that encharged the Treasury Department to develop a policy framework to navigate and circumvent risks associated with crypto and blockchain tech. The framework report addressed the need for public authorities, private institutions, and other stakeholders to cooperate across borders to mitigate the effects of uneven regulation, supervision, and compliance across jurisdictions. 

The report stated, 

“Inadequate anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regulation, supervision, and enforcement by other countries challenges the ability of the United States to investigate illicit digital asset transaction flows that frequently jump overseas, as is often the case in ransomware payments and other cybercrime-related money laundering.”

Policy Framework Details

The report also laid out the approach necessary to achieve the aforementioned international cooperation and coordination. In one of the approaches listed in the report, the Treasury Department stated that G7 policymakers and regulators would need to get involved in matters of digital assets such as central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and modification of the international monetary system through the implementation of new technology. Furthermore, the report also stated that the United States would work with G20 member countries to identify financial stability threats and risks. The collaboration will also develop crypto regulation and address matters of “macro-financial challenges.” 

The policy report has also enlisted other United States government and regulatory departments to develop crypto policies. This includes the Financial Stability Board, Financial Action Task Force, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, International Monetary Fund, Federal Reserve Board forums for central banks at the Bank of International Settlement, the World Bank, and other Multilateral Development Banks.

The report claims, 

“The United States will explore opportunities for joint experimentation on digital assets technologies, market innovations and CBDCs, with this core set of allies and partners to increase our shared learning about ways to develop systems that meet our shared policy objectives.”

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.