What is cryptocurrency regulation doing in an infrastructure bill? As far as I can tell crypto is neither a road or a bridge. The crazy overreach in requirements that people exchanging cryptocurrency need report the names and addresses of those doing the exchange? This is required for cash. This regulation is counterproductive and probably unenforceable. It’s interesting though to see the amount of fear in the U.S. government over crypto. I’m still not sure what to make of all of this.
The provision in the bill requires anyone handling cryptocurrency transactions to report gross proceeds to the Internal Revenue Service, along with the names and addresses of the parties. It is intended to capture billions of dollars in tax revenue the IRS says is lost each year and would also give law enforcement and regulators visibility into a market in which bad actors can too easily operate anonymously.
Few dispute the need for disclosure of cryptocurrency transactions as a way to monitor potentially illicit activity. But the bill as written captures corners of the industry not focused on transactions, including everything from miners and stakers to producers of the hardware and software used in crypto markets.
Infrastructure Bill’s Cryptocurrency Measures Risk Pushing Criminals Further Underground – WSJ