Work on a bill with a strong impact on the cryptocurrency environment in the United States does not end with a happy ending. The controversial provisions have passed through deliberations in the Senate, and their future will be decided in the House of Representatives.
One vote has weighed in on a key amendment
“Infrastructure bill”, as it is referred to here, has been feverish for the entire crypto community in recent times, especially those of its members who have taken the United States as the center of their activities. The bill, aimed at increasing spending on infrastructure improvements, was supposed to open the way to raising funds in the total amount of 1.2 trillion dollars. Of course, a large part of this capital would come from sealing the tax system for cryptocurrencies. However, the original provisions qualified, among others, miners and transaction validators as brokers. This would impose additional and at the same time impossible obligations on them. We have devoted a separate article to this matter, in which we clearly and thoroughly present the provisions of the mentioned legislation, as well as the proposed amendments to it. You can learn more by reading the material entitled “U.S. Senate plunges into conflict over cryptocurrency tax bill”.
As it turns out, despite strong protests, and a very substantive version of one of the amendments, the bill has not lived to see changes. All thanks to Senator Richard Shelby from Alabama, who voted against the favorable solution for cryptocurrencies. It is presumed that the senator’s attitude was a response to the rejection of his own amendment concerning the increase in military spending. This situation significantly complicates the further fate of cryptocurrencies and threatens their stable functioning within the United States.
All is not yet lost
Although the controversial provisions were passed by the Senate, before they reach the President’s desk, they will still have to be approved by the House of Representatives. Here, in turn, they may face strong pressure to change.
Even before the Senate vote, members of the Blockchain Caucus, sent a letter to the House of Representatives strongly expressing their concerns about the new regulations. To quote, “Left unchanged, this regulation will have serious consequences for cryptocurrency investors in our country and will further regulate innovation outside the United States.”
The issue is significant because in the United States alone, the estimated number of cryptocurrency investors, is over 40 million people. The country is also a center of crypto innovation. The adoption of the bill in its current form, is entitled to have a negative impact on the entire cryptocurrency market and directly hit the wallets of investors, not only from this country, but also from around the world. Moreover, it could lead to another recent move of miners, and with them validators and entire start-ups. Consequently, it would result in much lower revenues to the budget than what the government is projecting.
