The US Office of Government Ethics has issued an advisory notice that prohibits US officials from using cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin advice President Joe Biden on how best to manage the virtual currency.
Federal employees are now prohibited from participating in any crypto regulation or policy that could affect the value of assets.
The directive set out the de minimis exemptions that – apply to security – allowing holders of security equities (like shares, and stocks) below a particular threshold with exposure to the crypto sector to work on related crypto policies. The directive, for example, allows holders of mutual funds with less than $50,000 invested into the sector to assist in writing crypto-related rules as long as they are not directly investing in cryptocurrency.
But, these exemptions don’t apply to any cryptocurrency, stablecoin, or even crypto that is considered securities under the federal or State securities laws.
Some White House employees who are known to have crypto investments will be severely affected by the directive. Tim Wu is a top technology advisor and competition policy adviser to the Biden administration. He holds millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin.
Tim Wu, a well-known critic of Big Tech companies joined the White House in March to serve as an adviser on competition policies. He revealed that he has $1 million to $5million worth of Bitcoin. Wu has already opted out of working on crypto policy.
Crypto Holdings
Wu reported his holdings because it is required by the US Office of Government Ethics for federal workers to disclose their holdings of virtual currencies and income from them. Cryptocurrency.
The OGE issued a directive in June 2018 that required US government employees reporting their cryptocurrency holdings on their financial disclosure reports.
The requirement applies not only to cryptocurrencies, but also to other digital assets such as tokens or coins.
Employees who have cryptocurrencies were concerned about a conflict of interests.
Anyone working in the executive branch of US government must disclose crypto holdings since then because they can “create a conflict of interests”.
OGE defines cryptocurrency as a property that can be used to produce income or invest in it. However, it is not considered legal tender or a “real” currency.
Source: Shutterstock
