President Joe Biden’s major road and rail infrastructure plan includes an addition to stricter rules for cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. That proposal was voted through in the Senate on Tuesday.

According to the proposal, everyone who deals with bitcoin, just like stockbrokers, must report their and their clients’ transactions to the US Internal Revenue Service, IRS. Then the agency can collect tax on bitcoin profits – profits that bitcoin speculators do not always write in their tax return.

The rule will provide tens of billions of dollars in revenue – money that will go to roads and railways.

Information about all transactions for more than 10,000 dollars, or just over 87,000 kronor, must be reported, according to the proposal.

Broker

But US bitcoin companies have protested loudly. The major exchange site Coinbase’s CEO Brian Armstrong says that the proposal is incomprehensible. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who likes bitcoin, has said the proposal increases bureaucracy. It forces many to submit reports, even those who may only write computer programs that deal with cryptocurrencies.

Andreas de Blanche broadly agrees.

– The reporting requirement in the infrastructure plan is very broad and even impossible to meet, technically.

The criticism halted the gigantic infrastructure package in the Senate. A couple of senators tried to change the bill and clarify that brokers should mean brokers and not everyone else in the industry. But they were voted down.

The next step is for the proposal to be taken up in the House of Representatives, where the Democrats are in the majority, but where there may be many proposals for changes.

If the US takes a tougher stance against bitcoin, other countries may follow suit. That China has cracked down on bitcoin and that the EU is considering new rules should not help – but the price of the currency is still going up.

What’s going on? There are some possible explanations.

Clearer

The proposal for stricter rules is not yet clear. It must go through the House of Representatives as well. But if it passes in some form, it might be okay, anyway, Andreas de Blanche thinks.

– My students would appreciate clearer tax rules here in Sweden as well. Most people who use cryptocurrencies like bitcoin actually want to pay taxes themselves and know what applies.

The American cinema chain AMC Entertainment also announced on Tuesday that it, as one of the few large companies, intends to start accepting bitcoin as payment, a sign that the currency is becoming more accepted.

And at a major bitcoin conference recently, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and fund manager Catherine Wood spoke out about the currency. These three are popular with bitcoin fans who weigh their words on the gold scale.

One can also reverse the adversity in the Senate: The fact that cryptocurrencies are even discussed among top politicians is a sign that they are beginning to enter the fine room.

– Many are probably surprised that a few lines about bitcoin could stop a massive infrastructure plan. Such an uproar is good for the price, says Andreas de Blanche.