Social media was rocking with some strong opinions Wednesday after President Joe Biden signed his long-awaited executive order on cryptocurrencies.
Biden’s order seeks to set up a federal strategy on cryptocurrencies and includes exploring the possibility of developing a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency.
‘Historic Executive Order’
The Biden administration said that 16% of Americans, or almost 40 million citizens, now invest in or use cryptocurrencies, allowing the sector to boast a $3 trillion market capitalization last November.
“The United States must maintain technological leadership in this rapidly growing space, supporting innovation while mitigating the risks for consumers, businesses, the broader financial system, and the climate,” the White House said.
Crypto prices were up: bitcoin surged 8.5% to $42,254 at last check, according to CoinGecko, while ethereum was up nearly 6.5% to $2,741.
Privacy coins, or anonymity-enhanced cryptocurrencies, were also rising, including Monero, which was up 10.2% to $189.13.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that “President Biden’s historic executive order calls for a coordinated and comprehensive approach to digital asset policy.”
Gary Gensler, chairman of the Security and Exchange Commission, tweeted his support for Biden’s order, saying he looked “forward to collaborating with colleagues across the government to achieve important public policy goals.”
‘Sounds Bullish to Me’
Edward Moya, senior market analyst for the Americas with Oanda, said the end result of the executive order “will be greater protections for the consumer, financial stability, and a long path for a digital dollar.”
“Bitcoin will likely see strong resistance around the $45,000 level unless the stock market rally does not slowdown,” Moya said.
Meanwhile, over on social media, crypto enthusiasts did not hold back their views about Biden’s executive order.
“Anyone worried that President Biden’s executive order would spell doom & gloom for crypto can fully relax now,” Jake Chervinsky, head of policy for the Blockchain Association, said on Twitter. “The main concern was that the EO might force rushed rulemaking or impose new & bad restrictions, but there’s nothing like that here. It’s about as good as we could ask.”
Hailey Lennon, who was regulatory counsel for Coinbase and bitFlyer, tweeted that “this could overall be a positive direction for US regulation!”
“We have a myriad of regulators on the state and federal level that makes it difficult for companies to innovate in America,” she said. “A more collaborative approach to the space is a win.”
“Sounds bullish to me, especially coming from Yelen,” one person said on Reddit.
“Wow, did you hear that,” another Reddit poster said. “They want to look at the blockchain to stop crime, create a stable coin to preserve the US as a world reserve currency, and listen to actual experts on how to protect the Average crypto holder.”
‘It’s All A Worthless Scam’
“Well let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. It remains to be seen just how sensible they’ll be,” another poster responded.
“Translated,” another Reddit commenter said, ‘We’ll be installing guardrails, speed bumps, toll booths, traffic lights and stop signs all over the damn Blockchain. We’re coordinating with our Europoor partners, as well, so no getting around it. We’re looking at you, too, Asia.'”
One poster on Twitter declared that “Social Security is a ponzi, lottery tickets are a scam, Treasuries have a negative yield, Fiat is hyperinflating.”
“You think the government is protecting investors and consumers?” the poster asked.
“Completely disgusted that there’s even TALK about an official US crypto ‘asset’ with Biden’s new executive order,” another person tweeted. “Here’s hoping the study phase reveals what most of us already know: it’s all a worthless scam that consumes huge resources for no new value.”
“All executive orders involving money are illegal under the constitution,” another Twitter commenter said.
