Crypto’s fight for legitimacy reaches US president
Each day, Coinrule will run through the state of the digital assets market for Blockbeat, your home for news, analysis, opinion and commentary on blockchain and digital assets.
A bill to strike down the Securities and Exchange Commission’s staff accounting bulletin “SAB 121” has become the first-ever crypto bill to reach the US President.
Following Congress’ approval last week, it received bi-partisan Senate support in a 60-38 vote. SAB 121 forces banks to record customer crypto holdings as liability rather than asset on their balance sheet. It therefore makes it prohibitively expensive for banks to offer custody. The bill will now reach President Biden who previously threatened to veto it in line with the position of his crypto-sceptic ally Senator Elizabeth Warren.
This latest episode in the ongoing battle between the crypto industry and the SEC highlights multiple interesting developments. In the aftermath of the Bitcoin ETF approval, the interests of banks and the crypto industry are merging. Banks hate to miss out on opportunities for profits.
It also demonstrates that bi-partisan support for common-sense crypto rules exists. Pro-crypto voters contacted their legislators in larger numbers than expected. Crypto is no longer a niche political topic. The cost to be anti-crypto is growing.
An even more important piece of crypto legislation will be reaching Congress shortly. FIT21, the market structure bill, will introduce comprehensive regulation for the industry. It will also finally clarify which cryptocurrencies are securities. Pro-crypto legislators supporters and the industry support the bill but currently, it is not expected to pass Senate. Voters will be taking note.