Although encryption has long become an independent political issue, it sometimes becomes entangled with the dynamics of the broader political process. The notorious infrastructure bill-the main pillar of the Biden administration’s economic agenda- Suddenly passed Although Congressional Democrats initially agreed to vote on the party’s other legislative priorities first, it was held in the U.S. House of Representatives last Friday. After the bill passed by 228 votes to 206, it will be moved to President Biden’s desk. In addition to approving huge expenditures on roads, bridges, and broadband Internet access, it also comes with some important encryption-related clauses that have remained unchanged since the encryption community. Protest loudly It is added to the bill by default.

Although frustrating, this setback is not irreversible: cryptocurrency advocates have not exhausted all available tools to challenge controversial tax reporting and financial supervision rules.

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Better roads, more surveillance

The definition of “broker”, because it involves entities that facilitate crypto transactions in the context of tax reporting, this may be the main issue that cryptographic officers take on the language of the Infrastructure Act. The concern here is that, under current wording, the definition may include participants such as node operators or protocol developers who require them to report information about counterparties that they cannot access, making compliance impossible. However, it is up to the Ministry of Finance to define the exact rules for the application of this specification, which provides room for the encryption industry to try and negotiate reasonable terms.

Another problematic clause that later came to attention was clause 6050I, which established extensive surveillance requirements for those who received cryptocurrencies worth $10,000 or more.Many observers Calling the norm unconstitutional, With Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong attach a label This is a “disaster”.

The race for crypto mayors

At the same time, New York City is gaining The first Bitcoin mayorNew York State has always been considered a strict jurisdiction for crypto businesses, but once Eric Adams takes office on the first day of 2022, things may get better. The first statement issued by the mayor-elect was a commitment to eliminate obstacles to industry growth by cultivating talents for crypto-related jobs, and even consider a city coin project similar to the Miami coin to make New York a crypto-friendly destination. Even if Adams’ Bitcoin advocacy is still limited to the propaganda realm, having a senior official in one of the major global financial centers pushing the crypto agenda is still a huge victory for the industry.

Man, where is my spot Bitcoin ETF?

Representatives Tom Emmer and Darren Soto are strong representatives of the cryptocurrency industry. They have reported to the boss of the Securities and Exchange Commission Gary Gensler (Gary Gensler). ) make a suggestion, on the spot The agency is clearly unwilling to approve an application for an exchange-traded fund based on Bitcoin spot rather than BTC futures. The central point of their letter to Gensler is that the regulator’s argument that derivatives-based products provide stronger investor protection than products that track spot prices is untenable.