The United States government as a whole is working to build a crypto strategy, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) wants public input. This R&D Agenda is being developed by an interagency FTAC chaired by OSTP and the National Science Foundation as part of the NITRD Subcommittee.
White house wants answers
In a request for information (RFI) dated January 26 and posted in the Federal Register, the OSTP of the White House seeks input to help it determine agenda priorities. By March 23rd, individuals and groups can submit comments of up to 10 pages in length for consideration.
The White House introduced the initiative in September after the release of the “first-ever” Comprehensive Framework for Responsible Development of Digital Assets. President Trump’s March executive order, “Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets,” has sparked a flurry of activity in the realm of crypto-related research, including the new agenda.
The RFI explained that the agenda was made in order to “shape a whole-of-government effort” toward the creation of digital assets and distributed ledger technologies. Further, it was framed as a way to “kickstart fundamental research” and “continue to support research that translates technological breakthroughs into market-ready products.”
The authority is particularly interested in feedback on blockchain technology and digital assets and their possible uses.
“OSTP seeks responses that could inform the full breadth of Federal R&D priorities related to digital assets, including R&D initiatives that could complement the Federal Reserve’s research and experimentation related to CBDCs[…]We also encourage respondents to explain how their R&D suggestions could help advance policy priorities or recommendations,” the RFI noted.
The move comes after Vice President Joe Biden issued an executive order in March last year outlining the first government-wide strategy for digital assets. As the first initiative of its sort, it demanded several reports on crypto across all government ministries. OSTP’s request appears to be quite open-ended, since they are looking for feedback on any and all crypto-related topics.
