

When Biden Met Crypto: Thoughts on the President’s Executive Order
On March 9, 2022, President Biden signed an executive order (“the Order”) requiring federal agencies to submit reports on how cryptocurrencies relate to various issues, including money laundering, investor protection, international cooperation, central bank digital currencies (“CBDC”), and systemic risk. Here, we offer some perspective and suggestions on those issues.
First, consider money laundering. Typically, anti-money-laundering regulation aims to block money received from crime or terrorism from flowing into traditional financial institutions. Cryptocurrencies create concerns because they can be purchased (more or less) anonymously and without intermediaries. That raises two questions: (1) who should regulation target in the absence of … Read more