Senator Pat Toomey: Legislation Must Adapt to Cryptocurrencies

Pat Toomey, a Republican senator, urged the United States authorities to tailor legislation to the crypto industry rather than ignore and suppress it.

“[…] Regulators and lawmakers must recognise that open networks are here to stay for the long term. Our laws and regulations must adapt to this,” the politician said.

He emphasised that the crypto industry and blockchain provide financial autonomy in transactions without costly intermediaries. He said the Congress must ensure that the United States remains at the forefront of innovation.

The senator has begun soliciting proposals to improve the legislation, support the development of new digital assets and related technologies, and safeguard crypto investors. The call for proposals will run until 27 September.

Toomey is seeking proposals on the impact of cryptocurrencies on securities, stablecoins, bitcoin exchanges, privacy, investor protection, decentralized finance, and the removal of existing regulatory ambiguity.

As reported, Toomey was the co-sponsor of a crypto-friendly amendment to provisions of the bipartisan infrastructure bill.

Under the bill’s original language, any person providing cryptocurrency transfer services and receiving compensation for this must report to the Internal Revenue Service about the activity of their users.

Under certain interpretations, such requirements could apply to miners and node operators in blockchains, wallet developers, liquidity providers in DeFi protocols, and other non-custodial actors.

On 10 August, the U.S. Senate sent a document to the House of Representatives without amendments on cryptocurrencies. As CNBC reports, citing a Treasury official, the department does not intend to broadly interpret the definition of “broker” for industry participants, even if the infrastructure plan is passed unchanged.

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