Republican Congressman Tom Emmer introduced more crypto-related legislation — this time to help blockchain developers meet unreasonable financial reporting requirements.
The new bill could help correct controversial language in the Biden administration’s infrastructure bill at the end of 2021, which could theoretically label some of the blockchain \network participants as “brokers” of digital assets.
Clearing the air on crypto reports
Shared on Twitter On Thursday, Emmer’s bill aims to provide a “safe harbor” for blockchain developers and blockchain service providers who do not directly control private keys to access user assets.
The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act states that these parties should not be treated as money transmitters or financial institutions, nor be subject to registration and licensing requirements, unless they are directly involved in the safekeeping of crypto assets.
“If you don’t keep consumer funds, you are *not* a sender of money,” Emmer explained. “The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act provides this necessary certainty to miners, validators, wallet software providers, and the entire blockchain ecosystem.”
In November 2021, Biden’s infrastructure bill included a section imposing information reporting requirements on digital asset “brokers”. Critics of the bill disputed that the term “broker” was broad enough to theoretically apply to miners, stakers and even developers – for whom meeting such requirements would be impossible.
A consortium of crypto-backing politicians tent revising the wording of the bill before it was passed, but to no avail. As such, supporters of Emmer’s new bill believe it will provide some of the clarity needed to prevent the crypto industry from leaking overseas.
“For too long, federal regulators and policymakers have stuck the blockchain ecosystem in statutory definitions that just don’t make sense,” Emmer said.
The regulatory battle for crypto
Definitions are a tricky subject for crypto in the United States, especially when it comes to determining which digital assets are “securities” under federal securities laws.
Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler has long maintained that virtually all cryptocurrencies are securities, with Bitcoin being the only exception as a crypto commodity. Meanwhile, the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission believes there are many more crypto goods than that – including Ether and Tether (USDT).
The agency is now prepare to file a complaint America’s largest crypto exchange for listing some security tokens, which Coinbase contests do not qualify as such.
It also reportedly targeted the exchange for its staking service, as it previously did with rival exchange Kraken last month.
“The truth is that today there is no clear SEC regulation on crypto, and efforts to engage with the SEC are met with silence or enforcement action,” declared On Wednesday, Coinbase’s chief legal officer.
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