The digital asset industry plays a crucial role in innovation and economic development in the United States, as well as our Nation’s international leadership. It is therefore the policy of my Administration to support the responsible growth and use of digital assets, blockchain technology, and related technologies across all sectors of the economy, including by:
(i) protecting and promoting the ability of individual citizens and private-sector entities alike to access and use for lawful purposes open public blockchain net works without persecution, including the ability to develop and deploy software, to participate in mining and validating, to transact with other persons without unlawful censorship, and to maintain self-custody of digital assets;
(ii) promoting and protecting the sovereignty of the United States dollar, including through actions to promote the development and growth of lawful and legitimate dollar-backed stablecoins worldwide.
(iii) protecting and promoting fair and open access to banking services for all law-abiding individual citizens and private-sector entities alike;
(iv) providing regulatory clarity and certainty built on technology-neutral regulations, frameworks that account for emerging technologies, transparent decision making, and well-defined jurisdictional regulatory boundaries, all of which are essential to supporting a vibrant and inclusive digital economy and innovation in digital assets, permissionless blockchains, and distributed ledger technologies; and
(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 following core recommendations, if implemented, will ensure crypto becomes a hallmark of the new American Golden Age.
- American citizens and businesses should be able to own digital assets and use blockchain technologies for lawful purposes without fear of prosecution. Likewise, American entrepreneurs and software developers should have the liberty, and regulatory certainty, to upgrade all sectors of our economy using these technologies.
- Policymakers and market regulators should lay the groundwork for American digital asset markets to become the deepest and most liquid in the world.
- Banking regulators should never again pursue the Biden Administration’s policies of Operation Choke Point 2.0 and should instead embrace the opportunities digital assets and blockchain technologies offer to banks nationwide.
- U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins represent the next wave of innovation in payments, and policymakers should encourage their adoption to advance U.S. dollar dominance in the digital age.
- U.S. law enforcement agencies should have the tools and authorities to hold those who use digital assets for illegal activities accountable. These tools should never be misused to target the lawful activities of law-abiding citizens.
- Federal tax policy should recognize the unique characteristics of digital assets and address longstanding requests for guidance from investors and entrepreneurs.
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