Infrastructure Bill and crypto, Nancy Pelosi pressured

In the United States, pressure has already begun to build up on Speaker Nancy Pelosi to amend the cryptocurrency section of the Infrastructure Bill.

The controversial bill, which has just been approved by the US Senate, is now going to the House, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. 

The Speaker of the House has already received a letter from California Congresswoman Anna Eshoo asking her to change the definition of a broker given to cryptocurrency operators. The original bill includes not only exchanges, but also miners, validators and wallet developers, all of whom are supposed to report validated transactions to the IRS. However, since these are decentralized structures, this is impossible. 

In her letter, the MEP calls for a change to the legislation by re-evaluating the amendment that was rejected by the Senate due to a lack of unanimity. The amendment was also approved by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. 

In the text, Anna Eshoo writes:

“I share the goals of the underlying provision to address tax evasion in the cryptocurrency market, but the House should amend it, as the bipartisan compromise amendment would have, to meet this goal without stifling innovation in a nascent industry by imposing unworkable regulations. I stand ready to work with you to ensure this infrastructure legislation addresses tax to pay its investments without unduly threatening a growing sector of our economy”.

Nancy Pelosi and the Infrastructure Bill

The Infrastructure Bill’s path through the House is not expected to be easy. The Speaker of the House has already made it clear that she will not put the Infrastructure Bill to a vote unless the Senate first approves the $3.5 billion package proposed by the Democrats. This would mean waiting months. However, a group of moderate Democrats is reportedly opposing how the speaker is handling Congress. 

It must be said that the Infrastructure Bill is not yet official law, precisely because it lacks the approval of the House. This is where the battle will be fought to amend it and make it more crypto-friendly, if Nancy Pelosi allows it.