The digital asset industry has been criticized in a new report released by the White House, and many now fear that even stricter regulations will be introduced in the US.
The report, titled “Economic Report of the President,” contained an entire 36-page chapter devoted to the crypto industry.
Among other things, many efforts have been made to debunk the “perceived appeal of crypto-assets”.
It says cryptocurrency functions as a “largely speculative investment vehicle” and describes digital assets as volatile because “many of them have no fundamental value.”
Further describing the shortcomings of cryptocurrency, the White House report said that the asset class “has mostly been about creating artificial scarcity to support crypto-asset prices.”
“This raises questions about the role of regulation in protecting consumers, investors and the rest of the financial system from panic, disruption and fraud related to cryptoassets,” it added.
The report also briefly covered the new FedNow digital payment network and central bank digital currencies ( CBDC ), which it talked about in more favorable terms.
“Dedicated to Crypto FUD”
The report’s strong focus on cryptocurrency surprised many in the community, with Paradigm co-founder Fred Ehrsam noting that a whopping 15% of the report was “devoted to crypto FUD.”
Others questioned the way the report described cryptocurrency and Bitcoin (BTC) as having no fundamental value, with Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz suggesting the government could simply refund him all the taxes he paid on the supposedly worthless asset.
Meanwhile, the general anti-crypto sentiment of the US government has probably led some in the community to believe that there could be more regulation in the US.
Among those that have already taken steps to prepare for this scenario is Circle, the issuer of the popular USDC stablecoin, which just this week announced that it has applied for regulatory approval in France.
Circle’s announcement came as the company’s CEO Jeremy Aller wrapped up a trip to Europe, where he also praised the efforts of UK officials to make the country a “crucial global market for innovation in digital assets”.
