[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 20 (Friday, January 31, 2025)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 8647-8650]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-02123]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 90 , No. 20 / Friday, January 31, 2025 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 8647]]
Executive Order 14178 of January 23, 2025
Strengthening American Leadership in Digital
Financial Technology
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, and in order to promote United States
leadership in digital assets and financial technology
while protecting economic liberty, it is hereby
ordered:
Section 1. Purpose and Policies. (a) The digital asset
industry plays a crucial role in innovation and
economic development in the United States, as well as
our Nation's international leadership. It is therefore
the policy of my Administration to support the
responsible growth and use of digital assets,
blockchain technology, and related technologies across
all sectors of the economy, including by:
(i) protecting and promoting the ability of individual citizens and
private-sector entities alike to access and use for lawful purposes open
public blockchain networks without persecution, including the ability to
develop and deploy software, to participate in mining and validating, to
transact with other persons without unlawful censorship, and to maintain
self-custody of digital assets;
(ii) promoting and protecting the sovereignty of the United States dollar,
including through actions to promote the development and growth of lawful
and legitimate dollar-backed stablecoins worldwide;
(iii) protecting and promoting fair and open access to banking services for
all law-abiding individual citizens and private-sector entities alike;
(iv) providing regulatory clarity and certainty built on technology-neutral
regulations, frameworks that account for emerging technologies, transparent
decision making, and well-defined jurisdictional regulatory boundaries, all
of which are essential to supporting a vibrant and inclusive digital
economy and innovation in digital assets, permissionless blockchains, and
distributed ledger technologies; and
(v) taking measures to protect Americans from the risks of Central Bank
Digital Currencies (CBDCs), which threaten the stability of the financial
system, individual privacy, and the sovereignty of the United States,
including by prohibiting the establishment, issuance, circulation, and use
of a CBDC within the jurisdiction of the United States.
Sec. 2. Definitions. (a) For the purpose of this order,
the term ``digital asset'' refers to any digital
representation of value that is recorded on a
distributed ledger, including cryptocurrencies, digital
tokens, and stablecoins.
(b) The term ``blockchain'' means any technology
where data is:
(i) shared across a network to create a public ledger of verified
transactions or information among network participants;
(ii) linked using cryptography to maintain the integrity of the public
ledger and to execute other functions;
(iii) distributed among network participants in an automated fashion to
concurrently update network participants on the state of the public ledger
and any other functions; and
(iv) composed of source code that is publicly available.
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(c) ``Central Bank Digital Currency'' means a form
of digital money or monetary value, denominated in the
national unit of account, that is a direct liability of
the central bank.
Sec. 3. Revocation of Executive Order 14067 and
Department of the Treasury Framework of July 7, 2022.
(a) Executive Order 14067 of March 9, 2022 (Ensuring
Responsible Development of Digital Assets) is hereby
revoked.
(b) The Secretary of the Treasury is directed to
immediately revoke the Department of the Treasury's
``Framework for International Engagement on Digital
Assets,'' issued on July 7, 2022.
(c) All policies, directives, and guidance issued
pursuant to Executive Order 14067 and the Department of
the Treasury's Framework for International Engagement
on Digital Assets are hereby rescinded or shall be
rescinded by the Secretary of the Treasury, as
appropriate, to the extent they are inconsistent with
the provisions of this order.
(d) The Secretary of the Treasury shall take all
appropriate measures to ensure compliance with the
policies set forth in this order.
Sec. 4. Establishment of the President's Working Group
on Digital Asset Markets. (a) There is hereby
established within the National Economic Council the
President's Working Group on Digital Asset Markets
(Working Group). The Working Group shall be chaired by
the Special Advisor for AI and Crypto (Chair). In
addition to the Chair, the Working Group shall include
the following officials, or their designees:
(i) the Secretary of the Treasury;
(ii) the Attorney General;
(iii) the Secretary of Commerce;
(iv) the Secretary of Homeland Security;
(v) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget;
(vi) the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs;
(vii) the Assistant to the President for National Economic Policy (APEP);
(viii) the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology;
(ix) the Homeland Security Advisor;
(x) the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission; and
(xi) the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
(xii) As appropriate and consistent with applicable law, the Chair may
invite the heads of other executive departments and agencies (agencies), or
other senior officials within the Executive Office of the President, to
attend meetings of the Working Group, based on the relevance of their
expertise and responsibilities.
(b) Within 30 days of the date of this order, the
Department of the Treasury, the Department of Justice,
the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other
relevant agencies, the heads of which are included in
the Working Group, shall identify all regulations,
guidance documents, orders, or other items that affect
the digital asset sector. Within 60 days of the date of
this order, each agency shall submit to the Chair
recommendations with respect to whether each identified
regulation, guidance document, order, or other item
should be rescinded or modified, or, for items other
than regulations, adopted in a regulation.
(c) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the
Working Group shall submit a report to the President,
through the APEP, which shall recommend regulatory and
legislative proposals that advance the policies
established in this order. In particular, the report
shall focus on the following:
(i) The Working Group shall propose a Federal regulatory framework
governing the issuance and operation of digital assets, including
stablecoins, in the United States. The Working Group's report shall
consider provisions for market structure, oversight, consumer protection,
and risk management.
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(ii) The Working Group shall evaluate the potential creation and
maintenance of a national digital asset stockpile and propose criteria for
establishing such a stockpile, potentially derived from cryptocurrencies
lawfully seized by the Federal Government through its law enforcement
efforts.
(d) The Chair shall designate an Executive Director
of the Working Group, who shall be responsible for
coordinating its day-to-day functions. On issues
affecting the national security, the Working Group
shall consult with the National Security Council.
(e) As appropriate and consistent with law, the
Working Group shall hold public hearings and receive
individual expertise from leaders in digital assets and
digital markets.
Sec. 5. Prohibition of Central Bank Digital Currencies.
(a) Except to the extent required by law, agencies
are hereby prohibited from undertaking any action to
establish, issue, or promote CBDCs within the
jurisdiction of the United States or abroad.
(b) Except to the extent required by law, any
ongoing plans or initiatives at any agency related to
the creation of a CBDC within the jurisdiction of the
United States shall be immediately terminated, and no
further actions may be taken to develop or implement
such plans or initiatives.
Sec. 6. Severability. (a) If any provision of this
order, or the application of any provision to any
person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the
remainder of this order and the application of its
provisions to any other persons or circumstances shall
not be affected thereby.
Sec. 7. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the
head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
[[Page 8650]]
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 23, 2025.
[FR Doc. 2025-02123
Filed 1-30-25; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P