cryptoknowmics.com
Alex Leishman, CEO of crypto trading platform River Financial, has criticized the Senate’s passage of crypto tax regulations contained in the trillion-dollar infrastructure bill. In a press statement issued on Sunday, Leishman asserted that the bill’s “overly” broad language would cause irreparable damage to America’s technological standing in the world.
Infra Bill’s Crypto Language Could Impose Serious Harm: River Financial CEO
“It's disappointing that Senators would attempt to rob the infrastructure of the future to pretend to pay for the crumbling infrastructure of the past,” Leishman noted while urging the House of Representatives to strike out the crypto provisions.
He described the legislation as a huge setback for millions of Bitcoin owners in the US and alleged that it threatened the country’s “best chance” at technological leadership.
Like other critics, Leishman took a shot at the sweeping use of the term broker in new crypto rules. He also warned that several entities encompassed in the term -- miners, software developers, and node operators -- would fail to comply with the regulations, thereby leaving businesses with two choices: either shut down operations or migrate overseas.
Furthermore, he complained that the current text would undermine crypto investors’ privacy and limit American innovation:
US Treasury Department Working to Add More Clarity to New Rules
The concerns expressed by America’s crypto advocates like Leishman haven’t gone entirely unnoticed. Just last week, Bloomberg reported that the Treasury Department was preparing to provide further clarification on crypto reporting laws, which will be available this week. In this guidance, the department will outline activities that qualify an individual or business as a crypto broker.
Also, developers, miners, and hardware and software providers contributing to the $2 trillion industry would be exempt from the new requirements, so long as they don’t act as brokers themselves.