Just as the US House of Representatives passed a resolution calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission to roll back its anti-crypto banking policy, the White House has already announced that it will be vetoed if passed.
The decision to roll back the 2022 SEC announcement, passed with bipartisan support 228-182 on Wednesday, has earned praise from crypto advocates inside and outside Capitol Hill.
“With its exciting decision, the Council is taking a stand to ensure that such significant changes go through a proper public rulemaking process,” Amanda Russo, director of communications for the Crypto Council for Innovation, said in a statement with Decrypt. “This is critical to maintaining a competitive and innovative financial landscape.”
But the impact of the vote was blunted by the Biden administration's announcement hours earlier.
“The administration strongly opposes the passage of HJ Res. 109, which reads as undermining the SEC's work to protect investors in crypto-asset markets and protect the broader financial system. “Limiting the SEC's ability to maintain a comprehensive and effective financial regulatory framework for crypto-assets will lead to greater financial instability and market instability.”
If the resolution reaches President Joe Biden's desk, the statement concludes, he will reject it.
The focus of the debate is the normally non-controversial Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) issued in April 2022. The obligations associated with these arrangements involve special risks and uncertainties not inherent in arrangements for the protection of technological, intangible assets. , and regulatory risks and uncertainties,” the announcement said.
“Typically, staff statements aren't designed to make clear policy changes — they're to clarify existing rules,” Russo said. “SAB 121, however, acts as new legislation, affecting major aspects of the financial and digital asset industries.”
Rep. Mike Flood (R-Nebraska) introduced a resolution condemning SAB 121 in the House, with a companion resolution in the Senate.
“It is unfortunate that SEC 121 is trying to bypass the legislative process by falsely claiming that SEC 121 is simply a non-binding labor standard guideline,” Flood said Monday.
Rep. Tom Emmer, a longtime SEC critic, offered strong support for the House's decision today.
This decision is an important effort to protect consumers and foster innovation in digital assets markets, he said. “It's also important to stop SEC regulatory power grabs.”
“SAB 121 introduces more unnecessary and avoidable concentration risk into the digital asset ecosystem, making our markets fairer, more orderly and more efficient,” Emmer said earlier this week. Mission
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