Consistent with financial product definitions in U.S. law (see: security, commodity), there should clear criteria on what is a "digital asset." Allowing an agency or political appointee to unilaterally designate something as a "digital asset" could have a wide range of effects that are not being considered.
Is the video streaming from Netflix a digital asset? It is intellectual property with a clear and known market value.
Is a PDF attached to an email a digital asset? It certainly could be, especially if it is a receipt from a purchase or sale.
Is my bank's smartphone app a digital asset? When I open it, it allows me to interact with my checking account.
I'm sure these are not what the drafters had in mind here, but are all within scope of the draft definition, even without the Secretary of the Treasury saying something absurd like "iMessages are digital assets but SMS messages are not." That is still within scope of that definition too.
lex-node
commented
3 years ago
Consistent with financial product definitions in U.S. law (see: security, commodity), there should clear criteria on what is a "digital asset." Allowing an agency or political appointee to unilaterally designate something as a "digital asset" could have a wide range of effects that are not being considered.
Is the video streaming from Netflix a digital asset? It is intellectual property with a clear and known market value. Is a PDF attached to an email a digital asset? It certainly could be, especially if it is a receipt from a purchase or sale. Is my bank's smartphone app a digital asset? When I open it, it allows me to interact with my checking account.
I'm sure these are not what the drafters had in mind here, but are all within scope of the draft definition, even without the Secretary of the Treasury saying something absurd like "iMessages are digital assets but SMS messages are not." That is still within scope of that definition too.