Treasury Secretary Janet reportedly opposes the Toomey-Wyden-Lummis amendment to the much-discussed infrastructure bill provision.
According to The Washington Post, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen privately expressed her dissatisfaction with a bipartisan group of senators’ proposed amendment to the cryptocurrency tax provision in the infrastructure bill, namely Patrick Toomey (R-PA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY). According to sources familiar with the matter, Yellen spoke with Wyden in an attempt to sway the Democratic lawmaker.
While it appeared as though the crypto industry was on the verge of obtaining the rewrite it desired following impressive lobbying efforts in Washington, Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), the lawmaker responsible for the cryptocurrency-related provision, unexpectedly proposed a dueling amendment with Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA). It only proposes to ban proof of work (PoW) miners and software and hardware vendors.
The Portman-Warner plan has a significant ace up its sleeve: the Biden administration’s support. Andrew Bates, a spokesman for the White House, praised the alternative amendment for striking the proper balance. Certain members of the Bitcoin community expressed schadenfreude, while supporters of popular proof of stake (PoS) blockchains expressed outrage. According to U.Today, Charles Hoskinson of IOHK was particularly critical of the last-minute amendment, urging his American supporters to contact their senators. Several Cardano stake pool operators claimed that if the bill is passed, they will be forced to leave the United States.
According to Coin Center’s Jerry Brito, the US government is attempting to pick winners and losers by favoring proof of work (PoW) over proof of stake (PoS), a claim echoed by Ripple’s general counsel Stuart Alderoty. On Saturday, senators are expected to hold a high-stakes vote on one of the competing amendments.
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