Sens. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., And Pat Toomey, R-Pa., Will hold a press conference on Monday, August 9, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol on a bipartisan agreement to establish digital asset reporting under the Infrastructure Act.
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A change to the bipartisan infrastructure bill that would restrict a proposal to increase state regulation of cryptocurrencies was blocked on Monday afternoon.
Senator Pat Toomey, R-Pa., Tabled the change for unanimous approval. Senator Bernie Sanders, a progressive independent from Vermont, then blocked GOP Senator Richard Shelby’s attempt to add defense funds.
The infrastructure bill itself is well on its way to being passed by the Senate on Tuesday morning.
The crypto change defeat came hours after the Treasury Department said it would not oppose a bipartisan agreement restricting a proposal in the infrastructure bill to increase state regulation of cryptocurrencies.
“I am grateful to Senators Warner, Portman, Sinema, Toomey and Lummis for working together on this change to clarify key provisions of the bipartisan infrastructure deal that will make significant strides in tax evasion in the cryptocurrency market,” Treasury Secretary said Janet Yellen in a statement Monday afternoon. “I am also grateful to Chairman Wyden for his guidance and commitment on these important issues.”
Previously, Toomey and Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., And Rob Portman, R-Ohio said they are negotiating with the Treasury Department over two competing amendments to reconciling How far is the definition of a broker to be defined?
“We worked with the Treasury Department to clarify the underlying text and to ensure that those who do not act as brokers are not subject to the reporting requirements of the bill,” the group said in a press release.
“While we would each have designed this solution differently, we all agree that it is important to ensure that these obligations are properly designed so that they only apply to companies that regularly transact digital assets for consideration,” added she added.
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The White House initially backed an amendment supported by Warner, Sinema and Portman that would have exempted more cryptocurrency players from tighter regulation than the bill’s original language, but wanted fewer than Wyden, Toomey and Lummis wanted.
Bitcoin was up 5.9% from Monday afternoon’s session to $ 46,217.
Clarification: This story has been updated with more details on how the change was blocked.
