U.S. regulators are looking at crypto-related areas, touching on financial regulation, economic innovation and national security, writes Cointelegraph.
Lately, news headlines are focused on regulators’ concerns over the lack of investor protections in the cryptocurrency market, which has ballooned to more than $2 trillion, and the possible risks to financial stability.
National security agencies across the administration of United States President Joe Biden are grappling with high-profile cases of cryptocurrencies playing a role in ransomware attacks, intellectual property espionage, sanctions violations, bribery of government officials and tax evasion.
According to a recent report issued by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, ransomware-related suspicious activity reports filed during the first half of 2021, which are up 30% from the entirety of 2020, indicate that ransomware is an increasing threat to the U.S. financial sector, businesses and the public
The Biden administration is weighing an executive order for federal agencies to study and make recommendations on relevant areas of the crypto industry related to national security, economic innovation and financial regulation. The initiative would also aim to coordinate agencies’ work on digital currencies throughout the executive branch, with a first-ever White House crypto czar acting as a point person.