‘A Matter Of National Security’

The Biden administration is rushing to get a handle on the fast-growing cryptocurrency market after extreme volatility has hit the price of bitcoin, ethereum and collectible non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Bitcoin, ethereum and NFT prices have swung wildly over the last year, with the bitcoin price soaring to almost $70,000 per bitcoin late last year before crashing back to around $37,000. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency after bitcoin, has seen similar swings while the NFT market grew from barely anything to a staggering $41 billion in 2021.

Now, the Biden administration is gearing up to issue an executive order that will call on federal agencies to regulate digital assets such as bitcoin, ethereum and NFTs « as a matter of national security, » it’s been reported.

« This is designed to look holistically at digital assets and develop a set of policies that give coherency to what the government is trying to do in this space, » a person familiar with the White House’s plan told Barron’s, indicating the White House National Security Council, the State Department, Treasury Department, National Economic Council, and Council of Economic Advisers would all be involved.

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