President Joe Biden's Executive Order on Digital Assets

The United States Department of the Treasury has provided President Joe Biden with a plan on how U.S. government agencies can cooperate with their foreign counterparts in the field of crypto.

In a Thursday announcement, the U.S. Treasury said it had reported on a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and other government agencies as required by President Biden's executive order on digital assets issued in March. According to the Treasury Department, the framework was aimed at encouraging development of digital assets while respecting "America's core democratic values" and ensuring stability and safety of the global financial system and international monetary system.

The Treasury Department, working with other government agencies, developed recommendations for mitigating the risks of crypto. It cited the need for cooperation among public authorities, private sector stakeholders, and other parties to prevent investors from being harmed by “uneven regulation and supervision across jurisdictions.”

The Treasury report said: "The United States' ability to investigate illicit digital asset transaction flows is hampered by inadequate anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regulation, supervision, and enforcement in other countries."

The Treasury Department said it will work with policymakers and regulators at the G7 to discuss issues related to digital assets, including central bank digital currencies, and seek ways to integrate new technologies into the international monetary system. The United States will also collaborate with G20 member countries to identify potential risks that could affect financial stability due to digital assets, push for crypto regulations, and consult with members about "macro-financial challenges."

The U.S. will engage in policy coordination and cooperation with a variety of other regulatory bodies, including 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 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.”

The executive order issued by President Biden in March aimed to establish a unified national policy on cryptocurrencies by requiring coordination and consolidation among U.S. government agencies and departments. Treasury's recommendations on a regulatory framework, the order also requests the Federal Reserve to research the development of a central bank digital currency. In June, as part of its obligation under the executive order, Justice Department released a report on how it might "improve international law enforcement cooperation" over the illicit use of digital assets