The most significant accomplishment of the Biden administration will become law this week as he plans to sign the $1 trillion infrastructure legislation, after months of opposition from within his own Democratic party.
Some of the bi-partisan opposition to that piece of legislation came from lawmakers who opposed two key provisions in the bill having to do with cryptocurrencies. The first dealt with vague language around the definition of a crypto “broker,” which would require burdensome transaction reporting requirements on crypto users small and large. The other deals with requirements to provide significant data details to the IRS for crypto transactions of $10 thousand or more.
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Today it’s being reported that certain U.S. Senators are looking to re-write that crypto language, so as not to hurt individual crypto investors, smaller blockchain-based businesses, nor stifle innovation. Specifically, Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) are collaborating to ease the legislative burden of the hastily-written, original language in the bill.
The original anti-crypto verbiage was added as a way to get crypto to offset some of the costs of the infrastructure bill. The thinking was that crypto mining rigs that rely on “proof of stake” allegedly consume more than their share of electricity, so those energy gluttons should pay for that excess privilege – even though there is no conclusive evidence that crypto activities play any direct role in climate change.
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By narrowing the rules within the infrastructure law, Wyden and Lummis’s bipartisan bill would help fix the legislative overreach into crypto, which would likely hinder individuals working on new digital wallets and blockchain tech. It will be several weeks before the amended pro-crypto language from the Senators would be considered and possibly passed. The actual infrastructure law itself will not take effect until January 2024.
On The Flipside
- Thank goodness there are still elected officials who recognize lousy legislation when they see it.
- There should be plenty of time for the Wyden-Lummis amendment to get the necessary support to be adopted.
Why You Should Care?
Without this bi-partisan response in support of cryptocurrencies, the U.S. would be following in the steps of China squelching and killing innovation.
