DeutschThe USA has been working on a crypto framework since spring. The framework law is intended to provide investors with more security and reduce the illegal use of crypto. A digital dollar is also a possibility. Now, a summary has been published for the first time. What exactly is it about?
Crypto in the USA: Leading role to grow
Yesterday, the White House published a summary. For the first time, it summarizes what various US authorities have been working on over the past six months.
It concerns the crypto framework law, which US President Joe Biden formally requested on March 9 of this year. Now it is clear what goals the North American country wants to achieve with a possible law.
The focus of the state authorities is therefore primarily on maintaining or even expanding their own leading role. To this end, they plan to promote modern technology and establish international standards.
CBDC possible in the USA
When Joe Biden announced the regulation of a crypto framework, this was not considered a good omen in the crypto scene. This attitude only became more relative over time. The reason for this is the Biden administration’s generally negative attitude towards Bitcoin and Co.
In particular, Finance Minister Janet Yellen has repeatedly expressed negative opinions about cryptocurrencies and declared them to be an undesirable tool for criminals. Such positions are often accompanied by a friendly attitude towards CBDCs.
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Accordingly, a digital dollar as a CBDC of the USA was obvious. In the new report by the US government, a digital central bank currency is anything but explicitly desired.
Although CBDCs are sometimes considered to be very beneficial – for example for financial inclusion, innovation, cross-border money transfers or secure data traffic – it also highlights the fact that disadvantages could arise.
In summary, the government explains in its report:
Further research and development work is needed on the technology that would support a US CBDC.
Most recently, FED President Neel Kashkari drew attention to the disadvantages of a CBDC. What is mentioned positively in the White House report – the possibility of the government monitoring all transactions – is, according to Kashkari, the biggest exclusion factor.
US crypto framework wants to expand KYC and AML
The USA may want to expand the KYC and AML measures of the crypto industry much more significantly than has been the case so far. The US Bank Secrecy Act could then apply to a wide variety of marketplaces, for example.
NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea, but also other unregulated services such as swappers, which only exchange cryptocurrencies with each other, could be considered. Without access to fiat currencies, such services do not yet have to identify their customers.
Parts of the industry have been expecting this demand to come at some point for years. Crypto veteran Erik Voorhees therefore converted his company ShapeShift into a DAO, which can no longer be subjected to regulations.
The USA wants to prevent the use of crypto for money laundering through this increasing surveillance. However, the White House only mentions this option as potentially possible.
It is not yet clear whether this demand will ever come. Even today, this would not have the desired effect. At least those users who are involved in criminal business would migrate to decentralized, unregulated alternatives.
