resident Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order on cryptocurrency this week that will mark the first step toward regulating how digital currency is traded.
The move comes as administration officials have raised concerns in recent weeks about Russia’s use of cryptocurrency to evade the impact of crushing sanctions in response to its invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions have sent the ruble to historic lows and have closed the country’s stock market.
Two people familiar with the process said the executive order on cryptocurrency was expected to be issued this week and it had been in the works long before the war. Both people spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the order.
Biden’s executive order will require government agencies later this year to report on what they’re doing related to digital tokens, Bloomberg reported, adding that the directive is also expected to address the possibility of the US issuing a central bank digital currency, or CBDC.
But the administration may hold off on taking a firm position on the creation of a US CBDC as the Federal Reserve is still studying the issue, the report said.