Wilson Center Flash Briefing: Understanding the White House's Framework for Digital Assets

On Thursday, September 22nd, the Wilson Center’s Digital Assets Forum held a virtual flash briefing featuring Alan Rechtschaffen, Chair of the Digital Assets Forum at the Wilson Center and Ryne Miller, General Counsel at FTX US. The discussion analyzed and dissected the White House’s new framework for the regulation of Digital Assets.

The Executive Order (EO) issued in March was a monumental first step in addressing the risks and harnessing the potential benefits emerging from the industry. For the past half-year, agencies across the U.S. Government have collaborated in developing frameworks and policy recommendations that work toward the six key priorities outlined in the first EO. Since then, nine reports have been submitted to the Administration, and jointly provide a more clear framework on the regulation of the industry. The framework will have a goal of promoting innovation while also implementing risk-mitigation measures to ensure investors and consumers are protected.

What is the outlook for the new framework and what does it mean for the industry? Alan and Ryne discuss the nuances of the framework and their potential implications.

Selected Quotes

Ryne Miller

"I think it’s a huge positive step that the White House has moved somewhat swiftly, following the executive order in March, to come out with something near substantive as a continuing moving of the ball on the administration’s focus on crypto."

"The United States, at least under the current leadership… has said we’re going to make crypto a priority. We don't think it should die, we don't think it should go away. And the US is gonna try to be a leader here… the department of commerce raised its hand and said we’re gonna do what we need to do to promote US digital asset businesses abroad."

Alan N. Rechtschaffen

"In the report… it says that the department of commerce will examine establishing a standing forum to convene, so they are doing something similar to what we have been doing for the last year and a half in terms of having a digital assets forum to discuss the evolution of policy and the nature of this fast-moving technology. That’s something that I think has come, to some extent, from the input of the Wilson Center."