The President of the United States is the most powerful person on the planet, so when he issues an order, people jump to attention. That was certainly the case this week when President Biden signed his “Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets,” a long-awaited command setting out the White House’s view of the crypto industry.
An “executive order” sure sounds imposing, but on close examination, this particular one doesn’t amount to much at all. Asked to summarize the order for a room of attendees at Camp Ethereal on Thursday, ConsenSys founder Joe Lubin said, waving his hands and giggling, “Hey all you agencies, get a clue.”
That’s about right. Biden’s order says it’s important that crypto not harm consumers or facilitate crime and, in a more encouraging tone, describes crypto’s potential for financial innovation and inclusion. This has been the position of the crypto industry for years, but I suppose it’s nice that President Biden is now saying it too. The most his predecessor did was to tweet one time, “I’m not a fan of Bitcoin and other…
