Early this morning, President Biden released his long-awaited Executive Order regarding crypto regulation. There is nothing shocking in the Order, and it seems to be far more crypto-friendly than many expected. Others such as TRM Labs and Jerry Brito have given succinct summaries of the Order’s contents. I highly recommend anybody interested in the topic read those . This article lays out the deadlines on what we can expect next.
In 90 Days (Approximately 3 Months From Now)
-Attorney General to submit a report on how the US can strengthen international law enforcement cooperation in detecting, investigating, and prosecuting criminal activity related to digital assets.
In 180 Days (Approximately 6 Months From Now)
-Secretary of Treasury shall issue a report to the President on the pros/cons of a federally backed cryptocurrency (referred to as Central Bank Digital Currency, or “CBDC” in the Order). This report also lays out what such a currency offering would look like, how it would work within the existing federal reserve system, etc.
-Secretary of Treasury will also issue report on economic conditions driving and/or limiting further development and adoption of cryptocurrencies.
-Secretary of Treasury will develop a framework for international engagement with foreign governments/agencies to establish global principals and standards to digital asset use/exchange, and potentially promote US backed CBDC for use in international finance.
-Attorney General will provide report on what, if any, federal legislation will be needed to issue a CBDC.
-Attorney General will provide report on role of law enforcement in detecting, investigating, and prosecuting crimes involving cryptocurrency.
-Director of Office of Science and Technology to issue a report on what the technical requirements would be to issue a CBDC.
-Director of Office of Science and Technology will issue report on energy and environmental impacts of cryptocurrencies including research into mitigating measures. This report shall be updated one year later to fill in any gaps or correct anything from the earlier report.
-Secretary of Commerce to submit a proposed framework for enhancing US economic competitiveness regarding the use and development of blockchain technology.
In 220 Days (Approximately 8 Months From Now)
-Secretary of Treasury to convene the Financial Stability Oversight Council to produce report outlining financial stability risks and regulatory gaps in existing law regarding digital assets.
In 1 Year +180 days (Approximately 1.5 Years From Now)
-Secretary of Treasury shall issue report on actions taken and effectiveness of those actions in regard to the development of international principals and standards on digital asset use/exchange.
Undefined/Uncertain Dates
-There will, at some point, be a submission to Congress from the Executive branch a “National Strategy for Combating Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing” (a document which was created in 2018 and is regularly updated/revised). 90 days after that submission, the Secretary of Treasury and other agency heads will provide supplements to that document addressing use of cryptocurrencies by illicit actors. Those agencies are then given 30 days to develop a coordinated strategy to mitigate digital-asset-related illicit finance and its associated national security risks. Then, 120 days after that, the Secretary of Treasury will provide the relevant agencies with any pending, proposed, or prospective rulemaking developed to address financial risks of illicit use of digital assets.
Conclusion
If you have any questions, or would like me to cover anything in particular, reach out to me on either of my twitter pages. As always, I am an attorney, I am not your attorney. For legal advice, you should always consult (and pay for) an attorney.
The NFTtorney 