Cryptocurrency brawl bogs down infrastructure bill, as Yellen and White House fight off changes

Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen spoke with lawmakers Thursday to raise objections to the effort led by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (DOre.) and two Republican senators to weaken the legislation’s proposed cryptocurrency overhauls, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details of private conversations. Yellen lobbied Wyden about the matter, the people said.

Last month, the White House and Sen. Rob Portman (ROhio) agreed to a proposal to require increased tax compliance for cryptocurrency brokers as a way to help pay for the bipartisan infrastructure bill. The deal came under intense criticism from cryptocurrency investors, who have argued it would give the Biden administration sweeping powers to virtually cripple the growing field of cryptocurrencies.

It was also rebuked by Wyden, Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (RPa.), and Sen. Cynthia M. Lummis (RWyo.), who are pushing an amendment to the infrastructure bill intended to prevent the Biden administration from applying the new rules to a wide swath of actors in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Some senators had hoped to pass the bipartisan bill on Thursday night, but the debate bogged down and the cryptocurrency fight remained one of the unresolved issues. On Thursday night, as the impasse between Wyden and the White House appeared to deepen, Portman and Sen. Mark R. Warner (DVa.) offered a competing amendment as a potential compromise. Click here for more information: Bitcoin News, Articles, Charts and Guides

The Warner Portman measure would exempt more cryptocurrency actors from greater regulation than the initial proposal, but fewer than Wyden, Toomey and Lummis want. The White House said publicly late Thursday it is supporting the Portman Warner effort, as it would do less to limit the executive branch’s new authorities over cryptocurrencies. A Treasury spokeswoman declined to comment on Yellen’s private conversations.

“We are grateful to Chairman Wyden for his leadership in pushing the Senate to address this issue. However, we believe that the alternative amendment put forward by Senators Warner, Portman, and Sinema strikes the right balance and makes an important step forward in promoting tax compliance,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement provided to The Washington Post, noting the work of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (DAriz.).

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