Notice2022-10731
Developing a Framework on Competitiveness of Digital Asset Technologies
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
May 19, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
Executive Order of March 9, 2022, "Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets", outlines U.S. policy objectives with respect to digital assets. The Executive Order directs the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the heads of any other relevant agencies, to establish a framework for enhancing U.S. economic competitiveness in, and leveraging of, digital asset technologies. Through this Request for Comment (RFC), the Department of Commerce (Commerce) is requesting input from the public that will inform the development of the framework.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 97 (Thursday, May 19, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 97 (Thursday, May 19, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30450-30452]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-10731]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[Docket No. 220509-0112]
RIN 0625-XC047
Developing a Framework on Competitiveness of Digital Asset
Technologies
AGENCY: International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: Executive Order of March 9, 2022, ``Ensuring Responsible
Development of Digital Assets'', outlines U.S. policy objectives with
respect to digital assets. The Executive Order directs the Secretary of
Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of
the Treasury, and the heads of any other relevant agencies, to
establish a framework for enhancing U.S. economic competitiveness in,
and leveraging of, digital asset technologies. Through this Request for
Comment (RFC), the Department of Commerce (Commerce) is requesting
input from the public that will inform the development of the
framework.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before 5 p.m. Eastern
Time on July 5, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted in response to this
document by comment through <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> on Docket ITA-2022-0003
or by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ffbb9698968b9e93be8c8c9a8b8cbf8b8d9e9b9ad1989089"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="99ddf0fef0edf8f5d8eaeafcedead9edebf8fdfcb7fef6ef">[email protected]</span></a>.
Instructions: Commerce invites comments on the full range of issues
presented in this Notice, including issues that are not specifically
raised in questions in this Notice. Comments submitted by email should
be machine-readable and should not be copy-protected. Commenters should
include the name of the person or organization filing the comment,
which will facilitate agency follow-up for clarifications as necessary,
as well as a page number on each page of their submissions. All
comments received are a part of the public record and will be posted on
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> without change. All personal identifying
information (for example, name, address) voluntarily submitted by the
commenter may be publicly accessible. Comments should not include any
business confidential or other sensitive or protected information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please direct questions regarding this
Notice to Vincent Tran, International Trade Specialist, telephone: 202-
482-2967, email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#195d707e706d7875586a6a7c6d6a596d6b787d7c377e766f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="91d5f8f6f8e5f0fdd0e2e2f4e5e2d1e5e3f0f5f4bff6fee7">[email protected]</span></a>,
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indicating ``Notice and Request for Comment'' in the subject line, or,
if by mail, addressed to International Trade Administration, U.S.
Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20230. Please direct media inquiries to ITA's Office of Public Affairs,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#58282d3a34313b393e3e39312a2b182c2a393c3d763f372e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="265653444a4f45474040474f545566525447424308414950">[email protected]</span></a> or (202) 482-3809.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Executive Order 14067 of March 9, 2022, ``Ensuring Responsible
Development of Digital Assets'' (hereafter ``Executive Order'') (87 FR
14143; March 14, 2022), outlines U.S. policy objectives with respect to
digital assets,\1\ including but not limited to protecting consumers,
investors, and businesses; mitigating systemic financial risk;
mitigating the illicit finance and national security risks posed by
misuse of digital assets; and supporting technological advancements
that promote responsible development and use of digital assets. The
Executive Order outlines the Federal government's approach to the
development of the U.S. digital assets sector. Section 2 of the
Executive Order provides six principle policy objectives for digital
assets: (a) Protection of consumers, investors, and businesses in the
United States; (b) protection of United States and global financial
stability and the mitigation of systemic risk; (c) mitigation of
illicit finance and national security risks posed by misuse of digital
assets; (d) reinforcement of U.S. leadership in the global financial
system and in technological and economic competitiveness, including
through the responsible development of payment innovations and digital
assets; (e) promotion of access to safe and affordable financial
services; and (f) support of technological advances that promote
responsible development and use of digital assets.
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\1\ As defined in the Executive Order, ``digital assets'' refers
to ``all [central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)], regardless of
the technology used, and to other representations of value,
financial assets and instruments, or claims that are used to make
payments or investments, or to transmit or exchange funds or the
equivalent thereof, that are issued or represented in digital form
through the use of distributed ledger technology. For example,
digital assets include cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and CBDCs.
Regardless of the label used, a digital asset may be, among other
things, a security, a commodity, a derivative, or other financial
product. Digital assets may be exchanged across digital asset
trading platforms, including centralized and decentralized finance
platforms, or through peer-to-peer technologies.''
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Section 8(a) provides the Administration's policy on fostering
international cooperation and United States competitiveness with
respect to digital assets and financial innovation. Among other items,
Section 8(a) notes that (i) technology-driven financial innovation is
frequently cross-border and requires coordination among public
authorities, particularly with respect to maintaining high regulatory
standards; (ii) the United States government has been active in
international fora on issues related to technology-driven financial
innovation, including at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF); (iii)
the U.S. presidency of the 2020 G7 saw the establishment of the G7
Digital Payment Experts Group to discuss CBDCs, stablecoins, and other
digital payment issues; (iv) the United States continues to support the
G20 roadmap for addressing challenges and frictions with cross-border
funds transfers and payments; and (v) the Biden-Harris Administration
will elevate the importance of these topics and expand engagement with
critical international partners, including through fora such as the G7,
G20, FATF, and Financial Stability Board. United States engagement will
focus on respect for core democratic values, protection of consumers,
investors, and businesses, preservation of global financial system
connectivity and platform interoperability, and maintenance of the
safety and soundness of the global financial system and international
monetary system.
Section 8(b)(iii) of the Executive Order directs the Secretary of
Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of
the Treasury, and the heads of any other relevant agencies, to (within
180 days of the date of the Executive Order) establish a framework for
enhancing U.S. economic competitiveness in, and leveraging of, digital
asset technologies. Through this RFC, Commerce is requesting input from
the public that will inform Commerce's work in developing the scope of
the framework, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the
Secretary of the Treasury, and the heads of other relevant agencies.
II. Objective of this RFC
This RFC offers an opportunity for all interested parties to
provide relevant input and recommendations for consideration in
Commerce's development of the economic competitiveness framework as
directed by Section 8(b)(iii) of the Executive Order.
III. Request for Comments
Commerce welcomes input on any matter that commenters believe is
relevant to Commerce's development of the framework for enhancing U.S.
economic competitiveness in, and leveraging of, digital asset
technologies, pursuant to Section 8(b)(iii) of the Executive Order.
Commenters are encouraged to address any or all of the following
questions, or to provide any other comments relevant to the development
of the framework. When responding to one or more of the questions
below, please note in your response the number(s) of the questions you
are responding to.
Commerce also seeks public comment on the following questions.
Competitiveness
(1) What are the features of U.S.-based digital asset businesses
(e.g., administrators, operators, validators, and other key stakeholder
roles in the function of digital assets as well as the exchanges,
brokers, and custodians used to trade and store them) that currently
underpin their competitiveness in a global market? Will these features
support future competitiveness?
(2) What obstacles do U.S. digital asset businesses face when
competing globally? How have these obstacles changed over the past five
years and are any anticipated to disappear? Are there clearly
foreseeable new obstacles that they will face in the future? What steps
could the U.S. government take to remove, minimize, or forestall any
obstacles?
(3) How does the current U.S. regulatory landscape affect U.S.
digital asset businesses' global competitiveness? Are there future
regulatory shifts that could support greater global competitiveness of
U.S. digital asset businesses? How does the U.S. regulatory landscape
for digital assets compare to that in finance or other comparable
sectors?
(4) What are the primary challenges to U.S. technological
leadership in the digital assets sector?
(5) What impact, if any, does the global nature of the digital
assets sector have on U.S. digital asset businesses' ability to attract
and retain talent and maintain leadership in development and operation
of digital asset technologies within the United States?
(6) What, if any, is the future role of digital assets mining \2\
in the U.S. digital
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assets sector? Can digital assets be compatible with a low-carbon
economy that emphasizes renewable energy? If so, how? In what ways can
the U.S. government and U.S. companies drive competitive, sustainable
(for the environment and energy consumption) development of digital
assets?
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\2\ The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
defines mining as follows: ``For some blockchains, in order to add
blocks to the ledger, transfers must go through a mining process.
Mining is a way of adding transaction records, via blocks, onto a
public ledger. Miners are nodes in the network that ensure the
transactions in the block are valid. Specifically, they ensure that
senders have not already used the funds they want to send to
receivers. Once miners finish the verification, they have to ask the
network for consent to add the new block to the ledger. In order to
do so, they have to follow the consensus mechanisms chosen for the
platform.'' OECD Blockchain Primer
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(7) What impact, if any, will global deployment of central bank
digital currencies (CBDC) have on the U.S. digital assets sector? To
what extent would the design of a U.S. CBDC (e.g., disintermediated or
intermediated, interoperable with other countries' CBDCs and other
domestic and international financial services, etc.) impact the sector?
(8) Should digital assets be given specific consideration in trade
agreements? If so, to what extent? What types of provisions would be
beneficial to the U.S. digital assets sector in the United States? Are
there provisions that would be beneficial to U.S. businesses and
consumers?
(9) What other factors related to economic competitiveness should
Commerce consider in the development of the framework?
(10) Beyond enhanced economic competitiveness, how can the U.S.
digital assets sector advance the other objectives outlined in the
Executive Order? These other objectives include protection of
consumers, investors, and business in the United States; protection of
United States and global financial stability and the mitigation of
systemic risk; and mitigation of illicit finance and national security
risks posed by misuse of digital assets.
(11) By what metrics should we measure the competitiveness of the
U.S. digital assets sector in the global market? Are there existing
measurements or data against these metrics?
Comparisons to `Traditional' Financial Services and Financial Inclusion
Considerations
(12) What factors and conditions, if any, that have driven and
sustained the global leadership of U.S.-based legacy financial
institutions will foster the same leadership for U.S. digital asset
businesses? If there are no common factors, what factors and conditions
will differentiate global competitiveness for U.S. digital asset
businesses?
(13) Can digital assets improve international payments (including
trade and remittances), and improve on access to trade finance? If so,
how? How do digital assets compare to other initiatives in payments
such as the Federal Reserve's FedNow?
(14) According to the FDIC's 2019 ``How America Banks'' survey,
approximately 94.6 percent (124 million) of U.S. households had at
least one bank or credit union account in 2019, while 5.4 percent (7.1
million) of households did not. Can digital assets play a role in
increasing these and other underserved Americans' access to safe,
affordable, and reliable financial services, and if so, how? What role
can the Federal government and the digital assets sector play to ensure
that underserved Americans can benefit from the increased commercial
availability of digital assets?
Technological Development
(15) To what extent do new standards for digital assets and their
underlying technologies need to be maintained or developed, for
instance those related to custody, identity, security, privacy, and
interoperability? What existing standards are already relevant? How
might existing standardization efforts be harmonized to support the
responsible development of digital assets?
(16) What new security concerns does increased adoption of digital
assets raise? How can the U.S. government collaborate with U.S. digital
asset businesses to protect consumers' access to their assets, personal
information, and other sensitive data?
(17) To what extent will interoperability between different digital
asset networks be important in the future? What risks does a lack of
interoperability pose? And what steps, if any, should be taken to
encourage interoperability?
Diane Farrell,
Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade.
[FR Doc. 2022-10731 Filed 5-18-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-P
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