Biden's EO directs the attorney general, secretary of the Treasury, and chairman of the Federal Reserve to provide the White House with a legislative proposal for its own CBDC within 210 days of the order, about seven months. A US CBDC would likely be designed in a way that would give government and/or the Federal Reserve substantial control over its use and supply.The digital dollars could easily be tracked by banks, federal agencies and the Federal Reserve. They could also be programmed to control what people buy. Climate change and equity are key considerations in Biden's proposed CBDC. Once a digital currency is in place, government and/or Federal Reserve officials would have more power than ever to control, track and coerce individuals and US businesses—likely without needing new laws approved by Congress.

On March 9, the Biden administration issued a sweeping executive order directing a laundry list of government agencies to develop plans to regulate cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, as well as to produce a detailed plan to study the potential creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for the United States.

If the federal government and Federal Reserve were to ultimately issue a CBDC, it would be the first time in a century that America has released an entirely new currency.

Although the executive order's language leaves the door open for federal agencies to recommend against the creation of a digital dollar, the evidence strongly suggests this will not occur, and that the White House will formally propose a plan for a digital currency by the end of the year.

The Federal Reserve has already studied the possibility of rolling out a digital currency. It released a detailed report about digital currencies earlier in 2022 that served as "the first step in a public discussion between the Federal Reserve and stakeholders about central bank digital currencies." There's no reason for the White House to ask for yet another report on digital currencies, unless it's to gear up for a big legislative change.