Infrastructure bill: Battle to move to the House of Reps as Senate fails to pass crypto-friendly amendment

Following the failure to pass a crypto-friendly draft of the infrastructure bill at the Senate, the battle will likely be moved to the United States House of Representatives.

The original version of the highly controversial infrastructure bill was passed by the Senate in a 69-30 vote on Wednesday. All attempts to amend the scope of the term “broker” proved abortive as lawmakers failed to reach unanimous consent. The implication is that businesses handling cryptocurrencies might be subjected to tighter rules on reporting requirements.

Despite the lack of amendment in favor of the crypto industry, four of the senators (Rob Portman, Mark Warner, Kyrsten Sinema, and Ron Wyden) who proposed a compromise amendment on Monday voted in favor of the infrastructure bill. Only Pat Toomey, Cynthia Lummis opposed the bill.

Stating his reason for voting nay, Pennsylvania senator Toomey said that the bill was “too expensive, too expansive, too unpaid for and too threatening to the innovative cryptocurrency economy.” According to him:

This legislation imposes a badly flawed, and in some cases unworkable, cryptocurrency tax reporting mandate that threatens future technological innovation.

Although the crypto industry may have lost the battle, the war is not over. There is still a chance that lawmakers at the House of Reps amend the language before its goes into full vote in the chamber and thereafter is signed into law by President Joe Biden.

Meanwhile, representatives and co-chairs of the Blockchain Caucus have urged lawmakers to amend the forthcoming bill to “clearly exempt noncustodial blockchain intermediaries and ensure that civil liberties are protected.”