HomeEducationMNblockchain Supports Amendment to Infrastructure Bill

MNblockchain Supports Amendment to Infrastructure Bill

MNblockchain Supports Amendment to Infrastructure Bill Definition of “broker”

Call to Action creates thousands of calls from industry to Congress

Minneapolis, MN – The Minnesota Blockchain Initiative (MNblockchain) supports the amendment to the infrastructure bill introduced by Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo. that would clarify the term “broker” doesn’t apply to miners, stakers, or software developers. The current definition of “broker” in the infrastructure bill is overly broad and unduly burdens many actors in the industry.

On August 4, 2021, MNblockchain was a signatory with over one hundred other stakeholders in this emerging technology ecosystem wrote to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urging them to support the Wyden-Lummis-Toomey amendment to the bipartisan infrastructure bill blockchain associations. “The industry is speaking out against the term “broker” in the infrastructure bill,” said MNblockchain founder, Troy Venjohn, “The current language threatens the payment infrastructure for the coming digital economy.”

The industry is at a critical juncture and investors and innovators are rapidly developing in this tech sector, creating new, smart jobs, economic development opportunities, and efficiencies in the financial markets. Investors need to have clear regulations that do not threaten the industry before they will join and boost these newly emerging markets. “The United States Senate can provide much-needed clarity to the cryptocurrency industry,” said Charleston, South Carolina attorney, William Kleindienst, “that would wholly incorporate digital assets into the U.S. financial sector. Blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies, and digital assets are an emerging technology and asset class and this infrastructure bill, as written, could severely damage the industry.”

As of 1 pm, today, Daniel Spuller, Director of Industry Affairs for the Washington-based Blockchain Association, reported via Slack “almost 9,000 calls have been made across all our stakeholders.”

A copy of the amendment can be found here.

 

The letter’s text is as follows:

 

Dear Majority Leader Schumer and Minority Leader McConnell,

The undersigned organizations—which include nonprofits, trade associations, and individual companies that participate in the United States’ vibrant and growing crypto economy—write to express our strong support for the amendment introduced by Sens. Wyden, Lummis, and Toomey.

As currently drafted, the recently announced Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill would jeopardize the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry’s future in the United States. The provision titled “Enhancement of Information Reporting for Brokers and Digital Assets” would likely lead to a host of unintended consequences, not only for the technology’s ability to operate in the United States but also for the privacy rights of all Americans.

The Wyden-Lummis-Toomey Amendment addresses a significant concern raised by the bill as currently drafted by removing the obligation to report from those network participants who don’t have—and shouldn’t have—access to customer information. It does so without affecting the reporting obligations placed on brokers and traders of digital assets.

Cryptocurrency networks are open source and run on the internet; they are here to stay whether the United States participates in their development or not. They promise to advance many ideals the United States supports: openness, freedom of speech, transparency, and individual agency.

We thank Sens. Wyden, Lummis, and Toomey for their valiant effort. While there are some remaining questions about portions of the language, this amendment goes a long way to addressing some of the biggest concerns with the draft. We encourage you to adopt the Wyden-Lummis-Toomey Amendment.

Signed:

Advantage Evans, LLC

Algorand

AlphaPoint

Americans for Tax Reform

Anchorage Digital

Association for Digital Asset Markets (ADAM)

Binance.US

Black People & Cryptocurrency

Blockchain Association

Blockchain Capital

Blockchain Defense Initiative

Blockchains, Inc.

Blockdaemon

Block.io, Inc.

Boston Blockchain Association

Brand New Technologies

BTCKing

California Blockchain Advocacy Coalition

Celo Foundation

Centre Consortium

Chia Network Inc.

Circle Internet Financial, LLC

CMT Digital

Code Inc.

Coinbase

Coin Center

CoinList

Coinme, Inc.

CoinShares

Competitive Enterprise Institute

Compound Labs, Inc.

Copia Institute

Core Scientific

Cross River Bank

Crowdie Advisors

Crypto Council for Innovation

Dapper Labs

Dash Core Group, Inc.

DeFi Alliance

Digital Currency Group

Digital Innovation Group

Digital Liberty

DoinGud

Dragonfly Capital

DRW Cumberland

dYdX Trading Inc.

Edge & Node Ventures, Inc.

ETHDenver and Colorado Blockchain

Electric Coin Company

Electronic Transactions Association

Emerging Impact Group

EMTECH

FinClusive

Fireblocks

Florida Blockchain Business Association

Framework Ventures

Gem

Gemini Trust Company, LLC

Genesis

Global Digital Finance

Government Blockchain Association

Grayscale Investments, LLC

gumi Cryptos Capital

Hajj Media, LLC

Hangar

Kraken

Learning Economy Foundation

Ledger

Lincoln Network

Lolli, Inc.

Louisiana Blockchain Association

Makara Digital Corporation

Maker Foundation

Metrika Inc.

Minnesota Blockchain Initiative

National Policy Network of Women of Color in Blockchain

New Jersey Blockchain Council

North Carolina Blockchain Initiative

Offchain Labs Inc

Okcoin

Optimism PBC

ORCHID Labs, Inc.

Paradigm

Paxos

Pennsylvania Blockchain Coalition

​​Placeholder Management

Proof of Stake Alliance

Puerto Rico Blockchain Trade Association

Ribbit Capital

Richmond Global Ventures

Ripple

Securrency, Inc.

Sia Foundation

SKALE Labs, Inc.

SkyBridge Capital

Skynet Labs

Solve.Care

South Carolina Emerging Tech Association

Stellar Development Foundation

Strix Leviathan, LLC

Square, Inc.

Tacen Inc.

Technology Association of Oregon

Texas Blockchain Council

The Aave Companies

The Graph Foundation

The Provenance Chain Network

The Wall Street Blockchain Alliance

Tlon Corporation

Tokensoft Inc.

TrustToken

Union Square Ventures

Value Technology Foundation

Variant Fund

Voyager

Women in Blockchain Boston

WTIA Cascadia Blockchain Council

Wyoming Blockchain Coalition

X2 Advisory, LLC

ZenLedger

Ox Labs

Rate This Article:
No comments

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.