Sen. Lummis Mounts Last-Ditch Effort to Modify Crypto Broker Language

Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) on Monday mounted a last-ditch effort to narrow the bipartisan infrastructure bill’s crypto broker clause. The bill is expected to become law later today when signed by President Joe Biden.

Lummis, an ardent crypto advocate, introduced a bill to rewrite a controversial tax provision that critics have said would stifle the U.S. crypto industry. In its place she proposed language that appeared similar to a compromise agreement considered earlier this year.

The proposed language would exempt blockchain validators, non-custodial hardware or software vendors and protocol developers from the definition of “broker” and its myriad tax implications.

As it currently stands, the bipartisan infrastructure bill defines “any person who is responsible for regularly providing any service effectuating transfers of digital assets on behalf of another person” as a broker.

“We need to be fostering innovation, not stifling it, if we are going to maintain America’s position as the global financial leader,” Lummis said in a statement. “I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan bill to ensure that our tax system reflects the realities of digital assets and distributed ledger technology.”