Many House lawmakers applauded the passage of two pro-crypto bills this week, but President Joe Biden may still veto a piece of legislation praised by industry advocates.
According to congressional records, on May 23, the House of Representatives submitted a joint resolution to the U.S. President calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to repeal the rule affecting financial institutions that do business with cryptocurrency companies. The bill, HJRes.109, would repeal the SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 121, which requires banks to hold customers’ cryptocurrencies on their balance sheets while holding capital against them.
Before the House and Senate approved the resolution, President Biden said on May 8 that he intended to veto it. He claimed the legislation would “inappropriately restrict the SEC’s ability to ensure appropriate safeguards and address future issues related to cryptoassets” and limit regulatory guidance for digital assets.
about: Biden may rethink 121-vote SAB veto due to political support for cryptocurrencies
However, in the space of about two weeks, the political landscape has changed. It was unclear whether President Biden would take recent events in Congress into account in vetoing the resolution or signing it into law.
On May 8, 21 Democratic lawmakers sided with Republicans to pass HJRes.109. A similar bipartisan result followed in the Senate on May 16, where the resolution passed by a vote of 60 to 38.
Ahead of the House vote on the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21), the White House released a statement saying President Biden opposed the bill – but did not explicitly threatened to veto it. More than 70 Democrats joined the Republican majority to pass the bill, which is expected to go to the Senate soon.
“HJ 109 and its bipartisan support represent a clear rebuke of the SEC’s vision for crypto regulation,” Mo Vela, former chief executive under then-Vice President Biden, told Cointelegraph. “I strongly encourage the Biden administration to cooperate with the cryptocurrency industry to develop consumer-friendly, industry-friendly regulations and policies.”
Villa added:
“I cannot predict whether the President will veto HJ 109, but I strongly encourage him not to.”
Cryptocurrency supporters will know President Biden’s course of action within ten days, excluding Sunday – the maximum time allowed to sign or veto the bill. The legislation arrived on his desk the same day the Securities and Exchange Commission first approved the listing and trading of Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds on U.S. exchanges.
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