Examining the intersection of cryptocurrency and government Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here. |
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Welcome to State of Crypto, a CoinDesk newsletter looking at the intersection of cryptocurrency and government. I’m your host, Nikhilesh De. You’re probably here because you signed up, but in case you're not a fan, you can unsubscribehere. The White House published a number of reports filed by federal departments in response to President Joe Biden’s executive order on crypto. I read through the nearly 300 pages so you don’t have to. In today's issue, I share the highlights. — Nik |
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Here’s What’s in the White House’s Crypto Reports |
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We’re starting to see some real results from U.S. President Joe Biden’s executive order on crypto, which he signed in March. The White House, Treasury, Commerce and Justice departments published a total of seven documents on Friday in response to the order, looking at everything from crypto’s role in illicit finance to analyzing the different considerations around a central bank digital currency. |
The reports came out more or less simultaneously. Reporters were able to join a press call previewing some of the reports, but they were all live by Friday. At first glance, these reports seem to be interesting but not especially promising in terms of concrete action. They’re largely summaries of past events, analyses of ongoing research or recommendations for future action with no timeline or commitment. However, this does indicate real progress in terms of how the federal government is approaching cryptocurrencies and regulation. The curious emphasis on central bank digital currencies (CBDC) aside, there is a lot that the crypto industry should be paying attention to in the different reports. |
There is a lot to unpack in the reports published last week. I’m just going to take them in turn, highlighting whatever sticks out to me in particular. Please drop a line if something else stood out to you that I don’t mention. Read the report highlights here |
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U.S. President Joe Biden nominated a few individuals to take on roles at the Federal Deposit Clearing Corporation. |
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- (The New York Times) A self-proclaimed 18-year-old cybersecurity enthusiast compromised ride-sharing app Uber’s entire digital infrastructure, telling the Times that he did so “because the company had weak security.” It looks like everything that could have been compromised was compromised, including a special admin account meant to respond to security breaches.
- (The Wall Street Journal ) Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen apparently isn’t a big stamp collector. Despite this, dignitaries the world over give her stamps. Yellen would – apparently – rather collect rocks. I don’t know why but I find this story just charming.
- (Thomson Reuters Foundation ) The Thomson Reuters Foundation took a look at Moss, a crypto company that bought carbon credits, used them to back a crypto token after allegedly misstating their actual value and then sold the tokens. Sometimes the company appears to have sold tokens backed by credits on which it doesn’t even own or have rights.
- (Fortune) Fortune’s Leo Schwartz spoke to “ambassadors” for the Coinbase-linked Give Crypto program, finding that in many cases Give Crypto and/or Coinbase appears to have made promises and then did not follow through.
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If you’ve got thoughts or questions on what I should discuss next week or any other feedback you’d like to share, feel free to email me at nik@coindesk.com or find me on Twitter @nikhileshde. You can also join the group conversation on Telegram. See ya’ll next week! |
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