Biden’s Executive Order on Cryptocurrencies Welcomed by Crypto Industry

The cryptocurrency community braced this week as President Joe Biden unveiled a long-awaited executive order on cryptocurrencies. The official order has confirmed that US agencies must now focus on how the country can compete in the global race for cryptocurrency adoption. As a result, the order was warmly welcomed by those in the industry. Elsewhere during the week, the global payment infrastructure provider, Stripe, refreshed support of cryptocurrencies, the United Arab Emirates passed a new cryptocurrency law and embraced further cryptocurrency regulation, and the file-sharing platform, LimeWire, confirmed a comeback that will involve a rebrand as an NFT marketplace.

• Stripe refreshes support for crypto after 4 years
• President Biden approves executive order on the regulation of cryptocurrencies
• The United Arab Emirates accelerates towards cryptocurrency adoption
• Entrepreneur, Kevin O’Leary, confirms 20% of his portfolio is in cryptocurrencies 
• The file-sharing platform LimeWire plans a comeback with NFTs

President Biden presents new executive order on digital assets

On Wednesday, the long-awaited executive order on cryptocurrencies was signed by President Joe Biden. According to White House officials, the executive order “establishes a national policy for digital assets across six key priorities.” Fortunately, the order was not as severe as some in the cryptocurrency community had feared it might be.

The new order is the first detailed framework for how the US will tackle the development of digital assets within the country moving forward. The six key priorities referenced in the accompanying document include: consumer and investor protection, financial stability, illicit activity, U.S. competitiveness on a global stage, financial inclusion, and responsible innovation. Focusing on these key priorities, agencies throughout the US will now use the executive order as a basis to begin research and future cryptocurrency development.

During an interview with CNBC, Anthony Scaramucci, the founder of Skybridge Capital, commented on the release of the executive order during the week. “This day and October 6 of last year were the two seminal days for the American government, as it relates to cryptocurrency. October 6 we got the bitcoin futures, and today we are being told by our government that frankly bitcoin is here to stay, and there will be responsible innovation that will be regulated by the government.” 

The policy document was warmly welcomed by the cryptocurrency industry and is seen as the first official step from the US towards the adoption of crypto and blockchain technology. Although the markets remained steady for the majority of the week, after release of the order, Bitcoin spiked briefly up to $42,000.

Stripe refreshes support for crypto after 4 years

One of the world’s largest payment providers, Stripe, has announced that it will be bringing back support for cryptocurrencies. Confirmed by Stripe co-founder John Collison via Twitter, the company is now set to support cryptocurrency-focused businesses including exchanges, on-ramps, wallets, and NFT marketplaces. 

Although being one of the first to adopt Bitcoin in 2014, the company subsequently abandoned support in 2018 due to issues arising with block sizes. Block sizes resulted in Bitcoin payments becoming “less useful” in comparison to traditional fiat.

However, after 4 years without support, the company is now beginning to view cryptocurrencies with renewed optimism. The “Ending Bitcoin Support” blog post was updated on March 10 to read, “Since the original publication of this blog post, more than four years ago, we’ve learned that our optimism for the future of crypto was not unfounded. From new developments in blockchain infrastructure to widespread interest from major financial institutions, crypto is going mainstream.” 

On the accompanying support page, the new suite of cryptocurrency products is set to allow access to over 135 different cryptocurrencies in over 180 different countries worldwide. Alongside the news of cryptocurrency support, the company also confirmed a new partnership with cryptocurrency platform, FTX.

Stripe has become one of the largest payment infrastructure providers in the world, operating in over 120 different countries and supporting clients that include Amazon, Google and Shopify. The new introduction of cryptocurrency-based payments will see it compete with companies such as Visa and Mastercard, that offer a similar suite of products.

Dubai and the UAE accelerate towards crypto adoption

Dubai, one of seven emirates that compose the United Arab Emirates, has passed its first law to regulate cryptocurrencies and, therefore, welcome the cryptocurrency industry into the country. In addition to the new law, a regulator has also been established to manage all cryptocurrency-focused activities within the emirate.

The new cryptocurrency law was announced by the official Twitter account of Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on Wednesday. In the announcement tweet, Sheik Mohammed stated, “Today, we approved the virtual assets law and established the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. A step that establishes the UAE’s position in this sector. The Authority will cooperate with all related entities to ensure maximum transparency and security for investors.”

Alongside confirmation of the new law and regulator, the UAE’s securities regulator, the SCA, said that it was getting closer to having a framework ready for virtual assets that are issued for investment purposes. The new framework will ensure virtual assets are not used unlawfully and will, therefore, address policies on anti-money laundering (AML) and the counter-financing of terrorism.   

Commenting on the Twitter post from Wednesday, Sheik Mohammed, made it clear what the country’s intentions were for joining the cryptocurrency industry. “The goal [is to] establish the UAE and Dubai’s position as a key player in designing the future of virtual assets globally. We established an independent authority to oversee the development of the best business environment in the world, in terms of regulation, licensing, [and] governance.”

Investor and entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary confirms 20% of portfolio is in cryptocurrencies

During an interview conducted with CNBC news, Kevin O’Leary confirmed that he now holds 20% of his portfolio within digital assets. After questioning cryptocurrencies for several years, the entrepreneur and Shark Tank star, is now a firm believer in the industry. 

O’Leary detailed that one fifth of all his investment holdings were either held within cryptocurrency coins or in the securities of companies operating within the sector. According to the investor, this equates to millions of dollars. He later confirmed that this capital was diversified acrossing 32 different positions. 

Elaborating further O’Leary explained, “The whole point is you don’t know who is going to win. Is Ethereum going to win? Is Solana going to win? Is it Helium or is it Avalanche? I own them all.“

To finish the interview the Shark Tank star then provided his views on President Biden’s latest executive order. “It wasn’t an all-out ban, so that’s good news.” However, he went on to say that the US needed to step up the pace of cryptocurrency adoption. “The Canadians are more advanced. They had the very first crypto exchange, they had the very first ETF with Bitcoin in it. How come we don’t? The same in the UAE, the same in Switzerland. We are so far behind in policy for this nascent industry that is going to lead the world of financial services. We have to get going.”  

LimeWire to relaunch as NFT marketplace

After being shutdown in 2010 for breaching copyright infringement, the global file-sharing platform, LimeWire, confirmed that it would be making a comeback this year as an NFT marketplace. Thanks to the application of blockchain technology, the platform is set to be make a re-appearance in May 2022.

The intellectual property and assets for the platform were purchased by Austrian brothers, Julian and Paul Zehetmayr, who are now planning to focus on the non-fungible token industry. In particular, the platform is set to focus on music and allow users to buy and sell assets including limited editions, unreleased demos, and digital merchandise.

According to the website, the platform is “back to bring digital collectibles to everybody.” Those interested in using the platform can now join a waitlist for early access and potentially join an exclusive airdrop by referring friends. The future LimeWire ecosystem will also include a LMWR token, which will be integral to the platform’s services.

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