The National Security Strategy (NSS) is the statement of how the White House views international security, and it’s updated regularly to reflect current priorities. When President Obama released his (second) NSS in 2015, it was a big deal that the White House took digital currency seriously, saying: “We will continue to work with foreign partners to build capacity against cyber threats by investing in cybersecurity, developing responses to attacks when they occur, and sharing information on best practices.”
Section three of the NSS devoted an entire passage to “Building Internet Freedom,” which included this line: “We will promote an open, interoperable, secure, and reliable information and communications infrastructure. We will encourage the free flow of information and technology over networks we control, including for internationally sourced Internet content.”
step toward embracing digital currency by accepting it as a donation when it set up its online store in 2014. But this new NSS demonstrates that there was also some internal discussion within the White House about whether Bitcoin could play a much greater role in global finance.
The White House was talking directly about Bitcoin. The administration had already taken a first
The latest National Security Strategy, released by the White House, is an ambitious document calling for a “free and open international system.” This would be a welcome development for global governance, but the strategy is flawed in its treatment of digital currency.
The document acknowledges that “there is a need to promote an international order that supports the free flow of information and the free flow of capital” and