10 Members of Congress Ask Nancy Pelosi to Help Overhaul Crypto Provision in Infrastructure Bill – Regulation

Ten US House members have called on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to address the crypto provision issue in the infrastructure bill. They explained that the bill's current definition of a broker would "increase uncertainty in the cryptocurrency industry, picking winners and losers... while undermining our country's competitive advantage over other countries in the digital asset market."

10 lawmakers are calling on House Speaker Pelosi to address the crypto provision in the infrastructure bill

Ten members of the US House of Representatives have jointly sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi about crypto provision in the bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill that President Joe Biden signed this week.

The letter was signed by Reps. Darren Soto, Ro Khanna, Stacey Plaskett, Eric Swalwell, Tim Ryan, Susan Wild, Marc Veasey, Jake Auchincloss, Al Lawson and Charlie Crist.

“We write to express our concerns regarding the Digital Asset Provision (Section 80603) of H.R. 3684, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework (BIF),” the November 15 letter begins. “As you and our colleagues in both chambers work to ‘build back better,’ we must ensure appropriate taxation and regulation of the cryptocurrency industry,” it said.

While emphasizing that “those who make profits in the cryptocurrency markets should pay their fair share of taxes,” the letter calls on regulators to also “ensure that this innovative technology does not make it easier for criminals to circumvent our laws and regulations.” It goes on:

However, as written today, the BIF would increase uncertainty in the cryptocurrency industry, pick winners and losers, and thwart the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) efforts to accurately tax cryptocurrencies, while simultaneously undermining our country's competitive advantage over other countries in the digital asset marketplace.

The lawmaker emphasized: “We must have sensible regulation of cryptocurrencies, but this legislation should not cripple the industry in the process.”

The letter goes on to explain the problem with the definition of a “broker” in the Infrastructure Act. “As drafted today, the provision would cover miners and other validators, as well as software and hardware wallet manufacturers that do not engage in trading activities and do not fall within the scope of brokerage services,” she explains. “In addition, many companies included in this expansion do not have access to the personal customer information that brokers are required to report to the IRS.”

The lawmakers added, “Well-crafted regulation fosters innovation and American ingenuity,” stating:

We therefore ask you to consider a way to address the provision of BIF digital assets in future legislation and during the ongoing discussions on this provision.

“Your support will help ensure that BIF does not capture validators, wallet providers and others who are unable to meet the requirements,” the letter said.

Last week, Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ron Wyden introduced a bill to change the definition of a broker in the crypto provision of the infrastructure bill. In addition, Senator Ted Cruz has introduced his own bill to totally repeal the crypto provision. The requirements of the Infrastructure Act currently only come into force from January 1st, 2023.

Do you think crypto regulations will change? Let us know in the comments section below.

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