Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets

cryptocurrencydigital assetscentral bank digital currencyfinancial regulationillicit finance

Signed by President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Directs nearly a dozen federal agencies to study, coordinate, and develop policy frameworks on digital assets — including cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and a potential U.S. central bank digital currency — placing the highest urgency on research into whether the United States should issue its own digital dollar.

Establishes a whole-of-government approach to digital asset policy, covering consumer protection, financial stability, illicit finance, climate impact, and international competitiveness, though no new regulations or legal requirements take effect directly — all tangible changes depend on future agency decisions.

What this order does

What it orders

The order directs the Treasury Secretary, Attorney General, and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to produce a series of reports — due within 90 to 210 days — covering consumer and investor risks, financial stability, law enforcement needs, climate and energy impacts, and the feasibility of a U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC), meaning a government-issued digital dollar. It also directs Treasury and Commerce to establish international engagement and U.S. competitiveness frameworks within 120–180 days, and instructs Treasury to convene the Financial Stability Oversight Council to assess systemic risks from digital assets.

The order does not itself create new regulations, change existing law, or authorize the issuance of a digital dollar — all of those outcomes depend on future agency recommendations, rulemaking, and potential legislation. Independent financial regulators such as the Federal Reserve, SEC, CFTC, FTC, CFPB, and banking agencies are invited to participate in the interagency process and encouraged — not ordered — to assess whether their existing authorities adequately cover digital assets.

Who it affects

Federal departments and agencies charged with producing reports and frameworks. Indirectly, U.S. consumers, investors, businesses, and financial institutions operating in digital asset markets, cryptocurrency exchanges, stablecoin issuers, and underbanked communities that the order's future policies aim to reach.

Why it matters

The order sets the clock on roughly a dozen government studies and frameworks that will shape whether and how the U.S. regulates cryptocurrencies, issues a digital dollar, and counters illicit crypto use. Businesses and consumers in digital asset markets will face regulatory decisions flowing from those reports.

What must happen and when

How the order is supposed to work

Implementation runs in waves tied to fixed deadlines: the Attorney General's law enforcement and legislative-need reports come first (90–180 days), followed by Treasury's consumer protection, CBDC, and illicit-finance reports (180 days), then Treasury's financial stability FSOC report and the AG's CBDC legislative proposal (210 days), and finally Treasury and Commerce's international engagement and competitiveness frameworks (120–180 days). All work is coordinated through the existing National Security Council interagency process co-led by the APNSA and APEP. The order contains a standard severability clause and reserves no self-executing enforcement mechanism — compliance depends on agency follow-through and appropriations.

Actions and deadlines

Attorney General submits report on strengthening international law enforcement cooperation on digital asset crimeWithin 90 days of signing
Secretary of Treasury submits report on future of money and payment systems, including CBDC implicationsWithin 180 days of signing
Attorney General provides assessment of whether legislation is needed to issue a U.S. CBDCWithin 180 days of signing
Secretary of Treasury submits report on digital asset implications for consumers, investors, businesses, and equitable growthWithin 180 days of signing
Director of OSTP submits technical evaluation of agency infrastructure needed to support a U.S. CBDC systemWithin 180 days of signing
Attorney General submits report on law enforcement role in detecting and prosecuting digital asset crimesWithin 180 days of signing
Director of OSTP submits report on distributed ledger technology's connections to energy use and climate changeWithin 180 days of signing
Secretary of Treasury establishes interagency framework for international engagement on digital asset standardsWithin 120 days of signing
Secretary of Commerce establishes framework for enhancing U.S. competitiveness in digital asset technologiesWithin 180 days of signing
Secretary of Treasury convenes FSOC and produces report on digital asset financial stability risks and regulatory gapsWithin 210 days of signing
Attorney General provides legislative proposal for issuing a U.S. CBDC if deemed appropriateWithin 210 days of signing
Relevant agencies submit supplemental annexes on illicit finance risks of digital assets to the PresidentWithin 90 days of submission of National Strategy for Combating Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing to Congress
Secretary of Treasury develops coordinated action plan to mitigate digital-asset-related illicit finance and national security risksWithin 120 days of submission of National Strategy for Combating Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing to Congress
Secretary of Treasury notifies agencies of pending rulemakings to address digital asset illicit finance risksWithin 120 days following completion of all four national risk assessment reports
Director of OSTP submits updated report on distributed ledger technology, energy, and climateWithin 1 year of submission of the initial climate/energy report
Secretary of Treasury submits report on priority actions taken under the international engagement frameworkWithin 1 year of establishment of the framework required by Section 8(b)(i)

Agencies directed to act

Department of the TreasuryDepartment of JusticeOffice of Science and Technology PolicyDepartment of CommerceDepartment of StateDepartment of EnergyDepartment of Homeland SecurityEnvironmental Protection AgencyOffice of Management and BudgetUnited States Agency for International Development

Authority and reach

Authorities cited

Article II

Constitutional grant of executive power to the President of the United States.

Read the full order View on Federal Register