- Senator Schumer fullstops amendments on the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, evoking a wave of outrage from the crypto community.
- What is the infrastructure bill and what does it have to do with crytpo?
- The amendment proposal and what problems it duggested to solve
- What’s the future landscape of crypto markets?
Yerevan (CoinChapter.com) – Cardano founder and CEO Charles Hoskinson bashed Chuck Schumer, majority leader US Senator of New York, citing his shut down of amendments on a bill involving crypto market tax regulation among infrastructure policies on Sunday. The bipartisan infrastructure bill promises to tax crypto transactions for a potential $28 billion in tax revenue in 10 years.
The CEO posted the offensive tweet in the early hours of August 9, reporting on Senator Schumer hitting the breaks on an amendment that could remedy some of the damage to the crypto market.
Also read: Uruguay drafts bill to allow crypto payment options for businesses.
The heat source: infrastructure bill
The bill in question involves a $1 trillion investment in infrastructure, the largest in US history. According to the White House announcement, the bipartisan infrastructure bill will cover public transit. In addition, it will involve passenger rail, bridge and highway system, and water infrastructure, both delivery and dispensary.
The bill itself did not concern crypto originally. However, Senator Rob Portman of Ohio commented that measures involving taxing crypto transactions were added later on. The reason behind the move was the growing concern about the lack of transparency on crypto exchanges.
The section on crypto tax involves a bill funding mechanism through crypto taxing. It plans to obtain $28 billion in tax revenue from the crypto market alone. Senators from both Republican and Democratic parties negotiated for weeks and nearly ran out of time to propose a good way for crypto ‘brokers’ to report to the IRS.
“It’s not a direct tax on crypto, it’s simply a reporting requirement that’s in place everywhere else. That seems like the right approach.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren assrted.
Also read: Derville Rowland calls Cryptocurrencies a “Great Concern.”
Amendment proposal could deflate the repercussions
Senators Ron Wyden, Pat Toomey, and Cynthia Lummis offered an amendment to the bill. It could have cushioned the blow to the crypto market and privacy policies on crypto exchanges. However, the cornerstone of the amendment was the definition of who the bill would consider as ‘brokers.’
The present version of the bill describes crypto ‘brokers’ in a broad sense, including miners and software developers.
“Investors failing to pay tax they owe through cryptocurrency is a real problem, and I strongly support third-party reporting by exchanges where cryptocurrency is bought, sold and traded. Our amendment makes clear that reporting does not apply to individuals developing block chain technology and wallets. This will protect American innovation while at the same time ensuring those who buy and sell cryptocurrency pay the taxes they already owe,”
Commented Senator Wyden in a Senate Finance Commitee Statement.
The amendment proposal got a positive response from the crypto community and some Congressmen, including Ted Budd. He tweeted a letter from Mitch McConnell to Senator Schumer, stating that the amendment could positively influence innovation in the US.
However, Senator Schumer nipped the amendment in the bud. As a result, the Senate had no chance to vote, which evoked Mr. Hoskinson’s harsh reaction.
Also read: Bitcoin breakout exceeds over $43K after positive US jobs data
What’s ahead for the crypto market
Many in the crypto community see the bill as a direct threat to the privacy and decentralization of the crypto market. Cardano’s CEO is not alone. Even the rockstar Gene Simmons got involved in the process, voicing his support for the amendment, albeit moderately.
“We feel strongly that policies that impact people’s basic civil liberties and people’s rights in the digital age should never be tacked on to legislation like an infrastructure bill,”
Stated Evan Greer, director of Fight for the Future, a nonprofit advocacy group for digital rights.
With no opportunity for amendments to the bill, the repercussions for the crypto market could be serious. Mr. Hoskinson asserted that it could entirely change the face of the industry.
“It defies logic to adopt a regulation for which compliance is literally impossible unless the goal is to kill the industry.”
Said Jake Chervinsky, the General Counsel at Compound Labs Inc.
The leader of Cardano predicts a dire future for the crypto sector if the bill passes Congress.
Also read: How Sovryn is bringing DeFi back to the Bitcoin blockchain.
