A $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill on Tuesday appeared on track to pass the Senate without changes sought by the cryptocurrency industry’s supporters, as a deal among key senators on an amendment didn’t get support from the full chamber.
The infrastructure bill, which looks set to get the Senate’s OK on Tuesday, features new tax-reporting requirements on transactions involving bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. That’s expected to raise $28 billion to help provide funding for Senate spending on roads, broadband internet and other infrastructure projects. Crypto advocates have warned the new requirements could end up affecting not just brokers, but also miners and other industry players.
An amendment to address the issue was rolled out last week by Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Republican Sens. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, while the Biden White House said it preferred a different amendment on the matter that was backed by Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, Democratic Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, and Mark Warner of Virginia.
On Monday afternoon, some of those senators announced a deal on the reporting requirement, saying they would push to pass their compromise amendment through a process known as unanimous consent that makes quick approvals possible, but the deal didn’t win unanimous support in the Senate later Monday.
“The prospects look slim” for achieving unanimous consent “as the Senate is scheduled to vote on the infrastructure bill at 11:00 a.m. today,” said Height Capital Markets analyst Edwin Groshans in a note on Tuesday. The infrastructure bill then heads to the House of Representatives, where Groshans predicts that any attempt to amend the bill’s crypto provision “will meet the same fate as the Senators’ effort.”
However, Portman was upbeat about Washington’s ability to resolve the issue in a CNBC interview on Monday morning, saying the Treasury Department could issue guidance that will help and he wants to “make sure we’re not bringing in miners or stackers or people involved in software or hardware.”
The Ohio Republican said he made a speech on the Senate floor on Sunday to help ensure people understand that the legislation isn’t intended to be overly expansive.
“The Treasury also needs to help us. I hope they release something soon — I think they will — to clear this up,” he said.
Bitcoin
BTCUSD,
has been rallying, trading at levels last seen in mid-May.
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