White House Unveiled as Puppet Master as New Amendment Threatens Crypto Industry

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The infrastructure bill-related surprise in the U.S. Congress came in the form of a competing amendment with a short list of exemptions from the original language. On this episode of “The Breakdown,” NLW addresses the latest updates on the bill, including:</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">White House support of the</span> <a href= "https://www.coindesk.com/senator-who-wrote-controversial-crypto-tax-rule-proposes-modest-revision"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Portman, Warner and Sinema amendment</span></a></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Proof-of-work prioritization</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">The future of the bill</span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The White House claimed support of the Portman, Warner and Sinema competing amendment, citing its ability to strengthen tax compliance in the crypto industry. Crypto advocates have been quick to call out the intentional gaps in the amendment’s language as well as the clear lack of technological understanding.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The proposed amendment specifically excludes proof-of-work mining from the reporting requirements, a surprising stance compounded by the fact that the language itself seems to misunderstand the difference between validation and mining. Some Bitcoin maximalists rejoice at their preferential treatment over proof-of-stake networks like Ethereum, but it remains unclear whether this amendment would protect even Bitcoin in the long term.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If the amendment were passed, the bill itself would not go into effect until 2023. Organizations like</span> <a href= "https://www.fightforthefuture.org/"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Fight for the Future</span></a> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">are creating resources for crypto allies to contact their senators.