Crypto News
| Published On Aug 11, 2021 7:41 am CEST  |  Updated on Sep 27, 2021 10:16 am CEST | By Peter Siu

U.S. Senate passes Infrastructure Bill with “unworkable” crypto provision

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On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate voted 69-30 to approve the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that includes what many call an “unworkable” crypto reporting requirement provision. As a result of concerns about the provision, amendments were put forward for rectification, however the amendment did not pass the Senate on Monday. While it needed a unanimous consent agreement, it was Alabama Senator Richard Shelby who objected after he had previously not received support for his own amendment. Politics at its “best” as NBC’s Jake Sherman reported on Shelby’s motivation for his objection:

Texas Senator Ted Cruz expressed his concern immediately on Twitter and spoke of possible drastic consequences for the crypto industry in the United States:

By what definition?

The major problem in the unamended bill is the definition of a “broker” who must file reports with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Although they never take any control of a consumer’s assets, according to its current definition, a broker could also include software developers, transaction validators, and node operators who do not collect the information the IRS requires. Senator Mike Lee among many expressed their concerns of this provision on the U.S. competitive position in the world in the emerging sector and had said on Saturday:

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“It’s going to have a chilling effect on innovation within this sector … Places outside the United States may well be the ones to reap the benefit associated with the laws here in the United States if we adopt an unproven, untested, unknown strategy. What you’ll see is the flight of innovation, and investments related to innovation, to offshore locations around the globe.”

The Infrastructure Bill has now moved to the House of Representatives and will be handled once the Congress returns from recess by the end of September

Despite the setback, the fight is not over as crypto supporting representatives are not giving up. Shortly after the crypto amendment failed to pass in the Senate, four congressmen started efforts to mitigate threats the bill imposes.

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Peter Siu

Peter is a former poker-pro, turned crypto enthusiast with 8+ years’ experience in operational roles dealing with all online gaming verticals within large iGaming companies, including Flutter and Entain. Now an expert in the field of Sports Betting, Casino, iGaming, and Poker, he is our team leader and editor. When not working, Peter can be found in the gym or playing sports like football, tennis and more recently padel.