Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, will be speaking live from Washington, DC, to inform politicians and officials on the implications of the Infrastructure Bill on the blockchain industry.
Hoskinson previously stated that the Infrastructure Bill will be disastrous for cryptocurrency. He asked the people to unify and take affirmative action in addressing issues to their political officials, regardless of tribalistic tendencies.
On September 28, Hoskinson will get the opportunity to do so at the Government Blockchain Association’s Blockchain & Hybrid Event, a two-day conference (GBA).
What exactly is the status of the Infrastructure Bill?
The US Senate passed the Infrastructure Bill last month in a rare show of bipartisanship. It is expected to offer much-needed funds to fix America’s deteriorating transportation system, according to commentators.
However, the Bill also included an unethical provision about crypto reporting requirements. A requirement for cryptocurrency “brokers” to record transactions to the Internal Revenue Service.
Critics felt that the phrase “brokers” was too wide, so a last-minute change was added to further define the term. Unfortunately, the amendment was defeated, giving a major setback to the Bitcoin business in the United States.
Validators, hardware and software manufacturers, and protocol developers would all be considered “brokers” under the current concept. As a result, investors and innovators may be pushed to relocate to more crypto-friendly governments.
On September 27, the House will vote on the bill. However, Bloomberg reports that the House vote would most certainly be postponed until early October.
Cardano’s CEO seeks to educate legislators
The GBA is a non-profit professional organization dedicated to pushing blockchain technology solutions to the United States government. They make it clear that they do not support any one policy position.
Instead, the GBA intends to encourage governmental conversation about the “creative, profitable, and positive leveraging of blockchain technology.”
The GBA arranged the Blockchain & Hybrid Event in response to the Infrastructure Bill. They argue that the Senate’s passage of the bill demonstrates that senators aren’t well-versed in the subject.
“The recent debate over the Infrastructure Bill has made two things clear: The government will be regulating blockchain activities, but they don’t understand it well enough to do an effective job.”
In a speech last month, Hoskinson raised the problem of the lack of clarity about what the Bill would entail if it were to become legislation.
“Let’s say the disastrous scenario occurs, and this Bill is passed as is written. We’ll try to work with Coin Center, and others, to get at least some modicum of clarity of what the hell does this actually mean for stakepool operators and those who create DeFi , and deploy that DeFi.”
His general message is that government regulation is on the way. And the way we, as a community, respond to the Infrastructure Bill will define the future direction of the regulatory landscape in the years to come.
Let’s hope that Hoskinson can persuade politicians to enact more equitable and nuanced legislation that takes into account the complexity of the cryptographic realm, as he has previously done.