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Indian cryptocurrency exchanges have welcomed the US president Joe Biden’s executive order signed on Wednesday assigning various government bodies and federal agencies to evaluate the risks and benefits of issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC), along with researching the risks of decentralised cryptocurrencies and its use for illicit financing.
Irrespective of the concerns of the US government, with the increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies and need to regulate it, top crypto exchanges in India believe the move will only help common people understand cryptos better. As per media reports, there has been a suspicion among experts claiming that Russia could possibly use crypto to evade sanctions implemented by the West.
“This sounds to me as a welcome move. Common people need to understand how the digital currency works. Then the ones who sees the advantage of it being decentralised would move on to crypto currency. This is not about CBDC v/s crypto, but it is about both of them flourishing to help the needs of people,” said Sathvik Vishwanath, Co-Founder and CEO, Unocoin.
Ashish Singhal, Founder and CEO, CoinSwitch, added: “The executive order by the US President is an acknowledgement of the role of crypto in the financial markets as well as in the global financial systems. Protecting investors, mitigating risk, and preventing illegitimate activities have remained a priority of the responsible actors in the crypto industry.”
The Executive Order
The Biden government has tasked the Treasury Department and key agencies, including the Justice and State Departments, to submit a report by September evaluating potential costs and benefits of a digital dollar. The report to be submitted to the White House will also analyse the scope of CBDC in ensuring financial inclusion and implications on economic growth.
Other bodies and banking regulators will be closely tracking the development producing a report with four to six months on the impact of CBDC on the financial ecosystem and payments infrastructure.
Action plan
Separately, the Treasury Department, Director of National Intelligence, and Department of Homeland Security, among others, have to submit a detailed report on the risks of illicit financing through cryptocurrencies, along with an action plan to mitigating the same.
To this, Singhal, who is also the co-chair of The Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC) of IAMAI, said: “The executive order’s emphasis on promoting equitable access to financial services, responsible development and use of digital assets, and national leadership in technology and economic competitiveness are, in particular, noteworthy.”
“While India has rightly taken note of the consumer and investor interest in the crypto industry and continues to calibrate its regulatory approach, the US approach is an opportunity to also consider the positive influence crypto can have on the competitiveness of a country in the global financial systems,” he added.
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