Faced with the “dramatic growth” of digital assets and their “profound implications” for business, society and the dollar, the American president has ordered his entire administration to take advantage of decentralized technologies.
Historic moment. Joe Biden signed an executive order last Wednesday to “ensure the responsible development of digital assets”, committing the responsibility of his entire administration to better protect consumers, investors and businesses.
Behind this political approach as laudable as it is unprecedented, the American president actually holds his version blockchain of the’America First. It intervenes to protect and ideally strengthen American leadership in the global financial system.
Concealed in the lengths of an official text seeming to defend the good cause, the rapacity of the United States nevertheless targets technological competitiveness and innovations in terms of payment. The White House tenant admits it is in his country’s interest to stay “ at the forefront of digital asset development and the technology that underpins new forms of capital flows in the international system.
Ironically, this collective US effort to leverage crypto, including setting standards that favor the industry, comes just as Europe is on the brink of self-sabotage. The European Parliament should vote this Monday, March 14 on the draft regulation known as MiCA (for Market in Crypto Assets) whose latest version contains monumental errors of assessment. With a ban on digital assets from a protocol deemed “unsustainable”.
Would cryptos overshadow the dollar?
In the current architecture of international payment systems, the United States derives significant economic benefits from the central role played by the dollar. It would therefore be appropriate for Joe Biden to maintain this other hegemony to defend the interests and the financial power of his nation.
Obviously concerned about the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies, the American president demands that his federal agencies analyze the conditions that would favor this technological growth. He wants to identify the risks and opportunities for investors and businesses in the United States.
At the same time, President Biden is demanding policy recommendations, including potential regulatory and legislative actions, to protect American economic actors while supporting “ expanding access to safe and affordable financial services “.
But the US president nevertheless considers that the dollar as a sovereign currency remains the centerpiece of the proper functioning of the financial system, macroeconomic stabilization policies and economic growth.
The (accelerated) digitization of the dollar
The Biden administration now grants “ the greatest urgency to research and development efforts on design and deployment options for a U.S. central bank digital currency. In other words, an e-dollar, a digital dollar, a digital greenback…
The highest levels of technology in the administration, in consultation with the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve, have a maximum of 6 months to submit to the President a technical analysis of the technological infrastructure, capacity and expertise that would be required. to introduce a digital dollar system.
” The assessment should also include any thoughts or recommendations on how the inclusion of digital assets in federal processes may affect the work of the United States government and the delivery of government services, including risks and benefits to the cybersecurity, customer experience and social safety programs “, writes Joe Biden.
Environmental impact
Another notable detail in this race for American leadership via crypto, the president commissioned a report on the consequences induced by the blockchain, the mining activities of bitcoin and other altcoins, on the energy transition.
Joe Biden seems to question whether digital assets can ” hinder or advance efforts to combat climate change at home and abroad. »
Concerned, like European lawmakers, about the impact of cryptocurrency consensus mechanisms on energy use, the President of the United States has the presence of mind to seek “ potential mitigation measures and alternative consensus mechanisms and the design trade-offs they may entail “.