Cryptocurrency was not mentioned once at the signing ceremony, with bipartisanship and job creation seeming to be the afternoon’s subject.
After months of review by both the United States Senate and House of Representatives, the infrastructure bill — which has been chastised by many crypto enthusiasts — has been signed into law.
President Joe Biden signed the $1 trillion infrastructure bill in front of a crowd of media, politicians, and union members on Monday. While the bipartisan legislation is intended to support roads, bridges, internet access, solar panels, and electric car charging stations, politicians incorporated wording relevant to cryptocurrencies prior to the measure’s passing in both houses of Congress.
As enacted, the law would impose stricter regulations on enterprises that deal in cryptocurrency and enhance reporting requirements for brokers. The law requires that all digital asset transactions valued at more than $10,000 be disclosed to the Internal Revenue Service going ahead. Initially, a group of senators suggested an amendment to the law that would have defined the rules for crypto tax reporting, but the idea was defeated in August.
Bipartisanship and job creation seemed to be the afternoon’s focus, with many speakers highlighting the need of Democrats and Republicans working together to enact the law. Biden personally expressed gratitude to Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Rob Portman, as well as Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, for their contributions to passage of the Act.
“For far too long, we’ve boasted about having the world’s finest economy. […] “Today, we’re finally completing this,” the US president said. “America is reviving, and your life is about to improve.”
While the majority of senators who supported amending the bill’s crypto wording eventually voted in favour, Pat Toomey condemned the law as “too costly, too comprehensive, too underpaid for, and too pernicious to the new cryptocurrency economy” when it passed in the Senate. He described the demand for crypto tax reporting as “potentially impractical.”
While no US legislator can currently modify the content of the crypto reporting rule — which is due to take effect in 2024 — some have exploited the bill’s passing as a rallying cry. Shannon Bray, a Libertarian candidate for one of North Carolina’s Senate seats, urged voters to “support crypto-friendly lawmakers” in an apparent effort to thwart the law’s implementation.
Biden signed the infrastructure bill despite a reported last-minute attempt by Senators Ron Wyden and Cynthia Lummis to amend the tax reporting rules so that they “do not apply to persons creating blockchain technology and wallets.” It is unclear how Wyden and Lummis’ measure will influence existing infrastructure legislation, which has to pass both the Senate and the House before reaching the president’s desk.
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