US Senator Introduces Legislation to Repeal Infrastructure Bill’s Attack on Crypto Industry – Regulation

US Senator Ted Cruz has introduced a bill to repeal the crypto provision of the $1 trillion infrastructure package, which he says is a “devastating attack” on the crypto industry. “I call on my colleagues in the Senate to repeal this harmful language, which will create regulatory uncertainty and therefore unnecessary barriers to innovation,” he said.

Senator Cruz is pushing for the crypto provision of the infrastructure bill to be repealed

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz said Tuesday he has introduced legislation to repeal the infrastructure bill's "devastating attack" on the emerging cryptocurrency industry. President Joe Biden signed the $1 trillion infrastructure bill into law earlier this week.

Senator Cruz explained that his bill would “repeat an overly broad and poorly crafted provision from the infrastructure package that creates new reporting requirements for many participants in the blockchain industry.” He emphasized:

This provision will stifle innovation in the industry, endanger the privacy of many Americans and cryptocurrencies, and will likely move important aspects of the industry overseas to countries like China.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act “contains a provision that expands the definition of ‘broker’ to include almost all participants in the cryptocurrency structure and treats them as a financial institution,” Senator Cruz described. “They would be required to report consumer information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), even if those participants do not have access to that information.”

Cruz warned:

This mandate to collect customers' names, addresses and transactions means that almost any company even tangentially involved with cryptocurrency may suddenly be forced to monitor their users.

The Texas senator explained that his state has “quickly emerged as a major hub for the cryptocurrency industry, and the exciting industry is now at risk of being pushed offshore by an overarching provision in this newly signed, reckless spending package.”

He added: "As an advisory body, the Senate should have done its job and held hearings to properly understand the implications of the legislation for this emerging industry before we jeopardized the livelihoods and privacy of participating Americans."

I call on my colleagues in the Senate to repeal this harmful language, which creates regulatory uncertainty and therefore unnecessary barriers to innovation.

Some lawmakers have moved to change the crypto provision in the infrastructure bill. For example, Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ron Wyden introduced Legislation this week to change the definition of “broker” in the Infrastructure Investment and Employment Act.

Do you think the crypto provisions of the Infrastructure Act will be repealed? Let us know in the comments section below.

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