X, B, C, D, E: Why Bitcoin, Cardano, Dogecoin, Ethereum – and XRP too – appeared today

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What happened

Cryptocurrency prices ended the week on a high on Friday, boosted by good news from the halls of Congress – and, in particular, the House of Representatives.

At 9:40 a.m. EDT, here’s what the prices look like for several of the biggest names in cryptocurrency:

Image source: Getty Images.

So what

So what is driving cryptocurrency prices up today? As you will recall, over the past weekend, cryptocurrency investors, businesses and lobbyists worked hard to change a key provision of the US Senate’s $ 1,000 billion infrastructure bill. They failed, but may soon have a second chance to have their wish granted.

You see, the Infrastructure Bill proposes to partially pay for its expenses by levying a $ 28 billion tax on cryptocurrency transactions – and requiring “brokers” to report those transactions to the IRS in order to that they can be taxed. Opponents of the bill’s crypto provisions argue that the definition of “brokers” is too broad and could technically require crypto miners, software developers, transaction validators and other non-financial intermediaries to report their activities to the IRS.

Now what

Now the Senate did not accept this argument, and the infrastructure bill was passed with the overly broad definition of “brokers” intact. But now the bill goes to the House of Representatives for amendment. And as cryptocurrency observer Coindesk reports today, this is where crypto investors can get a second bite of the apple of the broker’s definition.

MP Anna Eshoo said House Speaker Coindesk “Pelosi’s closest friend in Congress” has asked the president to narrow the definition of “brokers” in the infrastructure bill . Eshoo argues that the definition as currently drafted is “problematic” and “impractical” and threatens to “choke[e] innovation in a nascent industry “- and she’s not the only one to think so. Coindesk notes that Congressman Patrick McHenry, the ranked Republican on the House Financial Services Committee, also supports tightening the definition of “brokers.” And Coindesk says there is still support for the amendment in the House.

Certainly, these same arguments were raised in the Senate last week, and they failed. They can also fail in the House, but they can also succeed. It is this chance that a problematic provision can be removed from future cryptocurrency regulations that crypto investors are excited about today.

This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the official recommendation position of a premium Motley Fool consulting service. Were motley! Questioning an investment thesis – even one of our own – helps us all to think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.

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