US President signs executive order on cryptocurrency: What it means and other details

President Joe Biden is signing an executive order on government oversight of cryptocurrency that urges the Federal Reserve to explore whether the central bank should jump in and create its own digital currency.
The Biden administration views the explosive popularity of cryptocurrency as a call for acting with urgency to look at the risks and benefits of digital assets, said a senior administration official who previewed the order on the condition of anonymity.
As part of the order being signed, the Treasury Department and other federal agencies are to study the impact of cryptocurrency on financial stability and national security.
Why the executive order
The action comes as lawmakers and administration officials are increasingly voicing concern that Russia may be using cryptocurrency to avoid the impact of sanctions imposed on its banks, oligarchs and oil industry due to the invasion of Ukraine.
Last week, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, Mark Warner, and Jack Reed asked the Treasury Department to provide information on how it intends to inhibit cryptocurrency use for sanctions evasion.
The Biden administration has argued that Russia won’t be able to make up for the loss of US and European business by turning to cryptocurrency. Officials said the Democratic president’s order had been in the works for months before Russia’s Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine last month.
The executive order has been widely anticipated by the finance industry, crypto traders, speculators and…