Trump issued an executive order yesterday called “Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology” which is set to stop the Securities and Exchange Commission’s repeated persecution of the crypto/blockchain industry. A regulatory taskforce is being formed to provide regulatory clarity for the booming crypto industry…
On top of moves to support “a vibrant and inclusive digital economy and innovation in digital assets, permissionless blockchains, and distributed ledger technologies” the executive order takes aim at Central Bank Digital Currencies:
“(v) taking measures to protect Americans from the risks of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), which threaten the stability of the financial system, individual privacy, and the sovereignty of the United States, including by prohibiting the establishment, issuance, circulation, and use of a CBDC within the jurisdiction of the United States.”
The order signals the administration’s intention to effectively ban the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC, which is bête noire of financial privacy fans. They give the state absolute control over any and all of an individual’s private transactions…
The EU’s response has been to swing the other way. European Central Bank board member Piero Cipollone says today that the ECB should go ahead with proposals to implement a “digital euro.” Naturally…
Sarah Pochin at Reform Scotland’s manifesto launch event: “I really wanted to come on in a Reform tartan burka, but apparently I wasn’t allowed… One day let’s do one of these events not live-streamed. We’ll do all the naughty stuff…”