Last week, the United States Senate voted to repeal the anti-crypto banking rule of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Republicans and Democrats united for the vote related to Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 121. However, it is likely that President Biden will veto said move.
The policy
The rule in question is aimed at preventing banks from offering crypto custody services. It was Republican lawmakers who had been leading the charge of taking down the policy.
The final vote to repeal the policy stood at 60 to 38, as 12 Democrat Senators broke party lines and joined Republicans to vote in favor of the resolution.
The Senators included Jon Tester, Jacky Rosen, Bob Casey Jr. and Cory Booker. The same had happened with the US House of Representatives a week prior.
That vote had ended at 228 to 182. But, Biden has already stated that he would veto the resolution if it were to pass.
The aim of SAB 121 is to protect those investing in the crypto markets and safeguard the broader financial system.
To accomplish this, the corporate balance sheets of public companies, including banks, would show the crypto assets they custody as liabilities.
The disagreement
However, lawmakers have argued that it is likely to scare away banks because of the cost. Plus, there would be no benefits for customers, or investors.
Earlier this week, a bipartisan group of lawmakers had claimed that the bill would be ineffective. Therefore, a join resolution had been introduced to repeal it in the House of Representatives and Senate, both.
This had been put together by Reps Mike Flood and Cynthia Lummis, both of whom are Republican. Democrat Wiley Nickel also joined them.
American regulators, such as the SEC, have received heavy criticism from Republican lawmakers about their crackdown against the crypto industry.
But, the recent vote shows that the issue could actually be bipartisan.
Democrats and Republicans
Dennis Porter, the CEO of Satoshi Action Fund, a nonprofit organization, commented on the matter. He said that both Republicans and Democrats are in favor of laws protecting the rights of American citizens.
He said that people should have the right to hold digital assets, but the Biden Administration has taken an anti-crypto stance.
Porter said that he was happy to see Republicans and Democrats join hands against SAB 121. He said that he had believed it for years that digital assets like Bitcoin were nonpartisan.
He said that understanding the power of this technology would allow progressives, Democrats, and liberals to advance their issues. This includes banking the unbanked and financial inclusion.
Porter added that he hoped President Biden would also join the 60 senators who are opposing SAB 121. Nonetheless, it does not seem likely.
The Biden Administration has allowed the SEC to go after the crypto industry aggressively, something the regulator did not do before.
It has launched enforcement action against a horde of crypto companies since last year, but has also approved spot Bitcoin ETFs.