Bipartisan support in the United States Congress has shown that it does not agree with the SEC’s SAB 121. There was a threat from President Biden to veto the overruling.
The majority of senators in the US Senate approved a Congressional Review Act (CRA) to examine SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (SAB 121) on May 16, 2024.
A record-breaking 60 to 38 vote was needed for H.J.Res. 109 to be approved by the United States Senate. The vote was very bipartisan, with Democrats receiving 51 votes to 49, and H.J.Res. 109 had great support. Senator Cynthia Lummis said that this vote was historic since it was the first time that Congress has ever enacted “standalone crypto legislation.”
However, President Biden had already pledged to veto any resolution that attempted to reverse the SEC policy before the House of Representatives voted on the measure.
Members of the House of Representatives are trying to derail the SEC’s attempts “to protect investors in crypto-asset markets and to preserve the larger financial system,” and the White House has said that it “strongly opposes” their actions.
In light of the Democratic mutiny and Donald Trump’s subsequent pro-crypto stance, would he now carry out the threat? The mere threat of a veto does not guarantee that one will ever be exercised; in fact, around a third of promised vetoes in previous administrations were never actually implemented.
Perianne Boring, CEO and founder of the blockchain trade group Digital Chamber, emphasized the significance of the unanimous passage of H.J.Res. 109 by Congress.
After Boring detailed the debate surrounding SAB 121, a total of twelve Democratic senators voted in favor of the measure, while twenty-one broke ranks to do so.
Among the Democratic senators who voted in favor, she singled out Chuck Schumer. “Schumer is the Senate majority leader and the second most powerful person in the nation, just second to President Biden,” Boring said as an important fact.
The television host and ex-house staffer said that the backing of the Democrats should have been a “watershed moment” for Biden’s administration. According to her, if Schumer is on board, the Trump administration would have to “rethink its approach and attitude.” “The tides are changing for crypto in Washington,” she concludes.
Since the crypto community isn’t the only industry hoping Biden will sign H.J.Res.109, the Biden administration may experience pressure from beyond the political realm as well. To “help safeguard American consumers,” the American Bankers Association has publicly asked “President Biden to act expeditiously to sign this resolution into law.”
Since banks also want a cut of the retail cryptocurrency adoption pie, they have a financial incentive to provide custody services for cryptocurrencies.
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