```

[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 20 (Friday, January 31, 2025)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 8647-8650]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-02123]



                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 90 , No. 20 / Friday, January 31, 2025 / 
Presidential Documents

[[Page 8647]]

                Executive Order 14178 of January 23, 2025

                
Strengthening American Leadership in Digital 
                Financial Technology

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, and in order to promote United States 
                leadership in digital assets and financial technology 
                while protecting economic liberty, it is hereby 
                ordered:

                Section 1. Purpose and Policies. (a) The digital asset 
                industry plays a crucial role in innovation and 
                economic development in the United States, as well as 
                our Nation's international leadership. It is therefore 
                the policy of my Administration to support the 
                responsible growth and use of digital assets, 
                blockchain technology, and related technologies across 
                all sectors of the economy, including by:

(i) protecting and promoting the ability of individual citizens and 
private-sector entities alike to access and use for lawful purposes open 
public blockchain networks without persecution, including the ability to 
develop and deploy software, to participate in mining and validating, to 
transact with other persons without unlawful censorship, and to maintain 
self-custody of digital assets;

(ii) promoting and protecting the sovereignty of the United States dollar, 
including through actions to promote the development and growth of lawful 
and legitimate dollar-backed stablecoins worldwide;

(iii) protecting and promoting fair and open access to banking services for 
all law-abiding individual citizens and private-sector entities alike;

(iv) providing regulatory clarity and certainty built on technology-neutral 
regulations, frameworks that account for emerging technologies, transparent 
decision making, and well-defined jurisdictional regulatory boundaries, all 
of which are essential to supporting a vibrant and inclusive digital 
economy and innovation in digital assets, permissionless blockchains, and 
distributed ledger technologies; and

(v) taking measures to protect Americans from the risks of Central Bank 
Digital Currencies (CBDCs), which threaten the stability of the financial 
system, individual privacy, and the sovereignty of the United States, 
including by prohibiting the establishment, issuance, circulation, and use 
of a CBDC within the jurisdiction of the United States.

                Sec. 2. Definitions. (a) For the purpose of this order, 
                the term ``digital asset'' refers to any digital 
                representation of value that is recorded on a 
                distributed ledger, including cryptocurrencies, digital 
                tokens, and stablecoins.

                    (b) The term ``blockchain'' means any technology 
                where data is:

(i) shared across a network to create a public ledger of verified 
transactions or information among network participants;

(ii) linked using cryptography to maintain the integrity of the public 
ledger and to execute other functions;

(iii) distributed among network participants in an automated fashion to 
concurrently update network participants on the state of the public ledger 
and any other functions; and

(iv) composed of source code that is publicly available.

[[Page 8648]]

                    (c) ``Central Bank Digital Currency'' means a form 
                of digital money or monetary value, denominated in the 
                national unit of account, that is a direct liability of 
                the central bank.

                Sec. 3. Revocation of Executive Order 14067 and 
                Department of the Treasury Framework of July 7, 2022. 
                (a) Executive Order 14067 of March 9, 2022 (Ensuring 
                Responsible Development of Digital Assets) is hereby 
                revoked.

                    (b) The Secretary of the Treasury is directed to 
                immediately revoke the Department of the Treasury's 
                ``Framework for International Engagement on Digital 
                Assets,'' issued on July 7, 2022.
                    (c) All policies, directives, and guidance issued 
                pursuant to Executive Order 14067 and the Department of 
                the Treasury's Framework for International Engagement 
                on Digital Assets are hereby rescinded or shall be 
                rescinded by the Secretary of the Treasury, as 
                appropriate, to the extent they are inconsistent with 
                the provisions of this order.
                    (d) The Secretary of the Treasury shall take all 
                appropriate measures to ensure compliance with the 
                policies set forth in this order.

                Sec. 4. Establishment of the President's Working Group 
                on Digital Asset Markets. (a) There is hereby 
                established within the National Economic Council the 
                President's Working Group on Digital Asset Markets 
                (Working Group). The Working Group shall be chaired by 
                the Special Advisor for AI and Crypto (Chair). In 
                addition to the Chair, the Working Group shall include 
                the following officials, or their designees:

(i) the Secretary of the Treasury;

(ii) the Attorney General;

(iii) the Secretary of Commerce;

(iv) the Secretary of Homeland Security;

(v) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget;

(vi) the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs;

(vii) the Assistant to the President for National Economic Policy (APEP);

(viii) the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology;

(ix) the Homeland Security Advisor;

(x) the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission; and

(xi) the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

(xii) As appropriate and consistent with applicable law, the Chair may 
invite the heads of other executive departments and agencies (agencies), or 
other senior officials within the Executive Office of the President, to 
attend meetings of the Working Group, based on the relevance of their 
expertise and responsibilities.

                    (b) Within 30 days of the date of this order, the 
                Department of the Treasury, the Department of Justice, 
                the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other 
                relevant agencies, the heads of which are included in 
                the Working Group, shall identify all regulations, 
                guidance documents, orders, or other items that affect 
                the digital asset sector. Within 60 days of the date of 
                this order, each agency shall submit to the Chair 
                recommendations with respect to whether each identified 
                regulation, guidance document, order, or other item 
                should be rescinded or modified, or, for items other 
                than regulations, adopted in a regulation.
                    (c) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the 
                Working Group shall submit a report to the President, 
                through the APEP, which shall recommend regulatory and 
                legislative proposals that advance the policies 
                established in this order. In particular, the report 
                shall focus on the following:

(i) The Working Group shall propose a Federal regulatory framework 
governing the issuance and operation of digital assets, including 
stablecoins, in the United States. The Working Group's report shall 
consider provisions for market structure, oversight, consumer protection, 
and risk management.

[[Page 8649]]

(ii) The Working Group shall evaluate the potential creation and 
maintenance of a national digital asset stockpile and propose criteria for 
establishing such a stockpile, potentially derived from cryptocurrencies 
lawfully seized by the Federal Government through its law enforcement 
efforts.

                    (d) The Chair shall designate an Executive Director 
                of the Working Group, who shall be responsible for 
                coordinating its day-to-day functions. On issues 
                affecting the national security, the Working Group 
                shall consult with the National Security Council.
                    (e) As appropriate and consistent with law, the 
                Working Group shall hold public hearings and receive 
                individual expertise from leaders in digital assets and 
                digital markets.

                Sec. 5. Prohibition of Central Bank Digital Currencies.

                    (a) Except to the extent required by law, agencies 
                are hereby prohibited from undertaking any action to 
                establish, issue, or promote CBDCs within the 
                jurisdiction of the United States or abroad.
                    (b) Except to the extent required by law, any 
                ongoing plans or initiatives at any agency related to 
                the creation of a CBDC within the jurisdiction of the 
                United States shall be immediately terminated, and no 
                further actions may be taken to develop or implement 
                such plans or initiatives.

                Sec. 6. Severability. (a) If any provision of this 
                order, or the application of any provision to any 
                person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the 
                remainder of this order and the application of its 
                provisions to any other persons or circumstances shall 
                not be affected thereby.

                Sec. 7. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order 
                shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the 
head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
                applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.

[[Page 8650]]

                    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, 
                create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    January 23, 2025.

[FR Doc. 2025-02123
Filed 1-30-25; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P
```