The Biden Administration is asking the public how they feel about digital assets and blockchain technology as a means of forming upcoming crypto policies.
In a new government document, The White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is asking for the public’s help in identifying key areas of the crypto industry that need more research and development.
“The [OSTP] requests public comments to help identify priorities for research and development related to digital assets, including various underlying technologies such as blockchain, distributed ledgers, decentralized finance, smart contracts, and related issues such as cybersecurity and privacy (e.g., cryptographic foundations and quantum resistance), programmability, and sustainability as they relate to digital assets.”
In the document, The White House also asks the public which sectors of the market they believe virtual assets are harming.
“Information about goals, sectors, or applications where digital assets might introduce risks or harms, and examples of where risks or harms are already being manifested…
Where relevant, respondents are encouraged to justify how digital assets are introducing new risks or harms in advancing the underlying goal, sector, or application compared to the use of traditional databases or other technologies.”
The White House goes on to note that it is currently exploring the possibility of creating a central bank digital currency (CDBC), or a crypto asset backed up by a nation’s Central Bank, adding that it also wants to know what the public thinks of a US CDBC.
“In the public sector, the United States is exploring whether a CBDC could provide a trustworthy infrastructure to facilitate transactions in a highly digitized world…
Respondents are encouraged to, where relevant, describe how the discussed [research and development] topic could be useful in helping a potential US CBDC system align with the Policy Objectives for a US CBDC System.”