Atlantic Council Pushes Biden Admin. Towards a U.S. Digital Currency

(by Michelle Edwards | UncoverDC) – The executive order issued by Joe Biden on Mar. 9, 2022, was primarily focused on cryptocurrencies. Nonetheless, his mention of a U.S. digital currency received significant attention and brought the U.S. government one step closer to regulating both cryptocurrencies and a United States central bank digital currency (CBDC).

With just three months left for the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to report back to Biden on the risks and benefits of establishing a CBDC, Carole House, a key member of Biden’s National Security Council (NSC), was on hand this week at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council—an organization with deep connections to the impeachment of President Trump and with close ties to Hunter Biden and Burisma. House is the NSC’s director of cyber security and secure digital innovation.

Nineteen of the G20 countries are exploring central bank digital currencies, but more needs to be done to address cybersecurity concerns.

Join @ACGeoEcon for the launch of a new report and discussion w/ @neha @M_Mosier_ @giuliacfanti & NSC’s Carole House. https://t.co/YAWATLMJc2 pic.twitter.com/k9SLWCcQzK

— Atlantic Council (@AtlanticCouncil) June 11, 2022

House delivered opening remarks at the Atlantic Council’s panel discussion on the challenge of cybersecurity and the need for responsible innovations in digital currency (Atlantic Council’s in-depth report is here). She also commented she was “very excited for [a] panel to examine some of the key issues related to the design choices, technology, and governance that we need to account for in looking at CBDC developments for the United States, as well as working with our international partners.” She added:

“We need robust protections. We also need to confront how our financial system has and has not worked for certain consumers and ensure that we have access to services that are equitable, inclusive and efficient. That’s why, in the U.S., we are placing the highest urgency on the research into the merits of a possible U.S. central bank digital currency, continuing to build off of the many years of efforts being driven out of the Federal Reserve.”

Pressure to explore a possible CBDC continues to rise. House joins “center-left” “think tank” Third Way next week to discuss “Will China’s Authoritarianism Dominate the Digital World Order?” She explained that Biden’s EO on exploring the benefits and risks of digital assets is “so important” to ensure proper protections are in place. In late May, feeling the pressure in the “race for the future of money,” the new vice-chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Lael Brainard, testified before Congress that the United States was at risk of falling behind. Read Full Article >