Senate negotiations on the contentious crypto aspects of the US infrastructure bill have concluded without agreement on any revisions, implying that the bill as written will be adopted on Tuesday.
The provisions seek to raise $28 billion for infrastructure funding through expanded digital asset taxation and will impose broad third-party reporting requirements on any crypto firm deemed to be a “broker.” On Monday, Jake Chervinsky, general counsel at Compound Labs, tweeted that the United States Senate had voted 68 to 29 in favor of ending the debate over the provisions, effectively putting an end to the debate.
Chervinsky underlined, however, that the Senate could still change the law before the final vote by unanimous consent. Senate negotiations on the bill’s contentious cryptocurrency tax provisions have stagnated, with an unamended version of the measure scheduled to be voted on Tuesday.
The provision’s broad definition of a crypto “broker” has sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency industry, with analysts speculating that miners, stakers and other network validators, and software developers could be subject to third-party tax reporting requirements despite not possessing personal information on their counter-parties.
The crypto industry has endorsed a proposal by Senators Pat Toomey, Rob Wyden, and Cynthia Lummis to narrow the definition of crypto “brokers” in order to exempt miners, validators, and software developers from the provision. The majority of politicians, on the other hand, support a competing amendment introduced by Rob Portman, Mark Warner, and Kyrsten Sinema that would exempt only miners, proof-of-stake validators, and wallet providers from the measure.
According to Lummis’ Sunday Twitter thread, both sides are now at odds over the 30-hour rule, which permits senators to deliberate on a measure for up to 30 hours before voting on it. While Lummis asserted that “some senators want to continue focusing on the infrastructure bill for 30 hours in order to raise awareness about its cost,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer “wants to vote quickly in order to focus on other legislation and will not allow amendment votes unless that happens.”
“If we could vote on amendments I think the digital asset community would be pleased with the outcome.”
Lummis
If the Senate approves the legislation on Tuesday, it would still need to pass the House before becoming law, providing additional opportunity for the crypto provisions to be revised.
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