New research for public sector CIOs as they prepare for digital assets

by Michael Greenwald | on

Public sector regulatory agencies are at an inflection point as digital assets have emerged in the private sector in the form of cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and central bank digital currencies ( CBDCs ). There is a growing demand from businesses, consumers, and governments to reduce their reliance on a single currency or economy to support their own state’s economic stability. The result will be a “basket of currencies” approach in global finance including interactions between stablecoins, CBDCs, cryptocurrencies, and fiat currencies in the future of money.

The White House, US Treasury, and Federal Reserve have given guidance through a series of executive orders and regulatory guidance that provides a preliminary roadmap for public sector institutions to begin working through the issues and engaging in responsible innovation. Developing a resilient, transparency-focused, and cloud-based infrastructure for potential US digital assets could serve to reinforce US competitiveness and the nation’s commitment to responsible innovation. Therefore, there is also a need to explore the issues and opportunities of adopting digital assets as government services continue to be modernized and transformed to contemporary standards through digital assets.

These issues have also incentivized governments to speed up their exploration of digital assets that can increase efficiency, decrease transaction costs, and speed up settlement times. But the continued and future operation of digital assets and stablecoin networks — which will be integral to the financial system of tomorrow — will require the expansion of resilient and secure cloud-based infrastructures, regardless of whether the architecture is centralized or based on a distributed ledger template.

At Amazon Web Services (Amazon Web Services), we believe that developing a resilient, transparency-focused, cloud-based infrastructure is the foundation of the future. This is equally, if not more so, true of the coming generation of public sector digital assets. Amazon Web Services GovCloud (US) gives government customers and their partners the flexibility to architect secure cloud solutions that comply with the FedRAMP High baseline, with U.S. citizen operations designed to be secure, reliable, and currently available for virtually all digital assets scenarios. Amazon Web Services services like Amazon Managed Blockchain and Amazon Quantum Ledger Database ( Amazon QLDB ) provide enabling technology services for digital assets. Amazon Web Services global infrastructure and services all help provide a foundation for public sector digital assets.

However, this is not a decision we can make. This is a decision that must be carefully considered by public sector chief information officers (CIOs), their teams, policymakers, and through appropriate and educated procurement processes.

To inform this process, Amazon Web Services has collaborated with industry analyst firm, Constellation Research, to write a new research report available to the public. “ The CIO Imperative for Digital Assets in the Public Sector ” presents an exploration of the requisite topics to get CIOs and their teams up-to-speed and ready for this journey. This report can help provide leaders the information they need to prepare for one of the largest and most significant public sector transitions of the last half-century.

We hope that you’ll join on us on this journey, engage with us in the necessary discussions, and continue the debate as the public sector fully focuses on these new opportunities, with innovation in the cloud at the forefront in making safe and prudent choices moving forward.

Download “ The CIO Imperative for Digital Assets in the Public Sector ” now.

Learn more about Amazon Web Services GovCloud (US).

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Michael Greenwald

Michael Greenwald

Michael B. Greenwald is a senior executive for Amazon Web Services (Amazon Web Services) serving as the global lead for digital assets and financial innovation. Previously, he was a managing director and director of digital asset education for Tiedemann Advisors. He was the first U.S. Treasury attaché to Qatar and Kuwait, acting as the principal liaison to the banking sector in those nations for two presidential administrations from 2010-2017. Michael is an adjunct professor at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) directing a digital asset capstone program, a former fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council Geoeconomics Center, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for New American Security, and is deputy director at the Trilateral Commission. Michael serves as a representative member for Amazon Web Services of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Technology Advisory Committee. He holds a Juris Doctor from Boston University, a Master’s from Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, and a Bachelor of Arts in History from George Washington University.

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