2023 U.S. Presidential Economic Report: Cryptoassets Too Risky to Be a Payment Tool or Expand Financial Inclusion

In 2023, the United States "Presidential Economic Report" will be released, with a total of 9 chapters. Chapter 8 "Digital Assets: Relearning Economic Principles" first introduces the potential advantages of cryptocurrencies, including improving payment systems, enhancing financial inclusion, creating intellectual property and financial Value distribution mechanism; then pointed out that encrypted assets did not bring any relevant benefits, pointed out that encrypted assets are mainly speculative investment vehicles, encrypted currencies generally cannot perform all the functions of currencies as effectively as sovereign currencies (such as the US dollar), and stable coins may be affected. Impact of operational risks, possible losses of encrypted assets to consumers and investors, limited economic benefits brought by distributed ledger technology (DLT), financial innovation risks and leverage risks, price fluctuations, illegal financial risks, use of ransomware, etc. risk. Additionally, the chapter discusses upcoming improvements to U.S. payments and the introduction of a CBDC. The chapter concludes that crypto assets are “too risky to serve as payment instruments or expand financial inclusion” and that “the assets appear to be here to stay, and they continue to pose risks to financial markets, investors, and consumers.”