US President Joe Biden on March 10 signed the ‘Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets.’ The executive order is the first comprehensive set of rules for governing cryptocurrencies and other virtual assets in the US.

The US has once again emerged as a centre of crypto activity. The country is now home to over 35 percent of Bitcoin’s mining volume capacity and to over 100 million cryptocurrency investors through its various cryptocurrency exchanges in the country.

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The executive order is widely being seen as being ‘neutral’ towards digital currencies as the regulations and orders do not seem to be setting the stage for a potential ban of all virtual currencies. At the same time, the order also does not legalise these currencies.

The order has asked a number of federal agencies to develop responses to the developing cryptocurrency technologies. This will mean different things for each department. But among these directives, is also the direction to the Federal Reserve to study the possibility of a ‘digital dollar’ or a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

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Additionally, the EO also sets out six key priorities for the US government regarding cryptocurrencies. These include consumer protection, use of cryptocurrency for criminal priorities, volatility of cryptocurrency, financial inclusion, and responsible innovation when it comes to newer cryptocurrency technologies.

(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)