Crypto Enthusiasts Purchase Billboard Attacking US Senator

Republican Senator Richard Shelby has a new billboard dedicated to him in his home state of Alabama, though it’s not the kind he might have wanted. Shelby upset the US crypto community regarding his proposed revision to an important infrastructure bill in the House of Representatives earlier this month and has been publicly pilloried as a result.

Non-profit organisation Fight for the Future, which champions digital rights and ethics, is behind the billboard “crediting” Shelby for his lone vote against revising damaging crypto regulation contained within the new US$1.2 billion infrastructure bill.

Shelby Holds Out on Otherwise Unanimous Vote

The section in the potentially harmful bill required a unanimous vote to be revised, but Shelby’s objection prevented the amendment to the cryptocurrency tax provision.

In a House voting session, Shelby opposed two amendments to the bill, requesting an additional US$50 billion in defence spending before he would endorse it.

Shelby later tweeted that he supported the amendment in principle but chose to prioritise the country’s security over innovation.

Amendments Have Not Been Made

As a result, the infrastructure bill passed the Senate with its original language, which captures the wider industry with its broad definition of the term “broker”. A last effort was made to amend the language, but Democrats in the House delivered another blow to the cryptocurrency community’s lobbying efforts last week by voting not to include any amendments to the legislation.

However, according to a Bloomberg report, the US Treasury is not going to target miners, stakers, software developers and hardware manufacturers.