US Senators Appeals To Treasury For Clarity On Crypto Regulations

Table of Contents

• US Treasury Called On For Clarification
• Congressional Hearing Discusses Role Of Crypto
• “Broker” Definition Still Causing Concern

Six senators have come together from both Democratic and Republican parties to appeal to the US treasury to further elaborate on the definition of ‘broker’ that had caused much turmoil in the infrastructure bill. 

US Treasury Called On For Clarification

Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), Mark Warner (D-VA), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Pat Toomey (R-PA), and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) addressed the US Treasury in a letter, requesting more information on matters which remained unclear. According to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs ACT (IIJA) passed by the Biden administration, crypto companies, protocols, and protocol operators alike would be imposed with information reporting requirements as a part of their income tax declarations. Several crypto industry leaders, as well as members of the US Senate, had questioned the categorization of “broker” in the bill, which seemed to be a blanket term that extended beyond just crypto exchanges, and even included mining firms, wallet companies, and other individuals and businesses that are not involved in crypto transactions.

Congressional Hearing Discusses Role Of Crypto

Just last week, a crypto congressional hearing was led by Republican Representative Maxine Waters between the House Financial Services Committee and heads of six crypto companies. The hearing comes on the back of the US government’s efforts to understand the fast-growing digital assets and how best to regulate them.

Additionally, the letter also referred to the comments made by Senators Portman and Warner on the floor that the provision should not impose new reporting requirements on people who do not meet the definition of brokers in actuality. The authors of the letter requested the US Treasury to ensure effective implementation of the law while maintaining congressional intent. Since the IIJA aims to provide more certainty for American investors and to ensure that crypto brokers provide investors in this new asset class with the same tax documents as stock traders. This will help the Federal government properly include digital assets like cryptocurrency into the country’s tax code. 

“Broker” Definition Still Causing Concern

The letter addressed by the Senators to the Treasury summed up the concerns of the industry over the too-broad implication of the term. It claimed that the term would include and thus negatively affect individuals who are only involved in validating distributed ledger transactions through mining, staking, or other methods. The loosely-defined term could also include entities that are just providing software or hardware solutions for users who maintain custody of their own digital wallets. The letter concluded with an appeal to ensure financial innovation and development in the US, without allowing illicit activities or tax evasion. 

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