A majority of lawmakers in the United States Senate have passed a joint resolution calling for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to strike down a rule affecting financial institutions doing business with crypto firms.
In a 60 to 38 vote on May 16, U.S. Senators passed H.J.Res. 109, a resolution nullifying the SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121. The commission’s rule requires banks to keep customers’ digital assets on their balance sheets, with capital maintained against them — a measure many lawmakers and industry leaders have criticized as stifling innovation.
“The tally, a stunning 60 ‘Yeas’ in the Senate vote, sends a strong signal that both houses of Congress, across the political divide, clearly disapprove of this rule,” said the crypto advocacy group Blockchain Association in a May 16 X post.
On May 8, before the resolution passed the U.S. House of Representatives, President Joe Biden said he intended to veto the bill to “protect investors in crypto-asset markets and to safeguard the broader financial system.” If the U.S. President vetoes the legislation, it will return to Congress and require a two-thirds majority vote to pass again.
“The threat of a presidential veto denies the fact that there is a growing awareness among the voting public, particularly young people, that crypto is something our elected officials should care about,” said the Blockchain Association.
This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.
