U.S. lawmakers most concerned about Treasury’s response to crypto

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Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis said the Treasury Department may be more of a threat to blockchain and cryptocurrency innovation in the United States than the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Speaking at the Texas Blockchain Summit in Austin on Friday, Lummis said his recent concerns with the federal agency stemmed from language regarding cryptocurrency brokers in the infrastructure bill currently at the center of debate in Congress. . Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has expressed support for the legislation. According to language passed by the Senate in August, brokers should report transactions in digital assets valued at more than $ 10,000 to the Internal Revenue Service.

The definition that was proposed showed a fundamental misunderstanding of Bitcoin and other digital assets, said Lummis, who claimed that many brokers under the bill with little or no knowledge of their clients would not have the information needed to file reports.

Exactly 3% of the US Senate attended the Texas Blockchain Summit. Texas Senator Ted Cruz spoke about Bitcoin mining (BTC) being used to monetize the energy created by oil and gas extraction rather than burning it by burning the excess as wasted fuel. Cruz was answering questions related to the state’s electricity grid during a severe winter storm in February when the senator left Texas for a brief trip to Cancun.

While Cruz focused primarily on energy concerns, Senators John Cornyn and Lummis both hinted that the key to avoiding misunderstandings in legislation, like the crypto amendment to the Infrastructure Bill, rested on the public engagement rather than relying on lawmakers to educate themselves on the topic. According to Cornyn, the wording of the infrastructure bill came as a bit of a surprise to members of Congress who lacked the knowledge to speak out on the subject.

Cruz claimed there weren’t five members of the US Senate who could tell you what Bitcoin is, but Lummis said she observed sufficient understanding after the infrastructure debate that language over crypto was subject to change in the House version of the bill. Congress is currently struggling to pass long-term infrastructure, budget reconciliation and debt ceiling legislation.

I have worked with members of both sides who had no interest in Bitcoin and digital assets and now we know each other, and now we talk about it regularly, Lummis said. I think there will be changes in that language, but it’s starting to show a pattern in my mind by the Treasury Department, the IRS, that was really going to have to work to keep the government’s heavy hand at bay.

Related: US Debt Ceiling Crisis: A Catalyst For The Ultimate Crypto Decoupling?

Originally slated for a vote before September 27, the infrastructure bill, which passed in the Senate, interfered with a $ 3.5 trillion House proposal in a political maneuver between Democrats progressive and moderate, associated with Republican attempts to prevent the government from defaulting on its commitments. debt. Lawmakers will likely try to move forward this week.

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