Crypto Issues Playing a Key Role in the US' FinTech Lobby

Around 40 companies in the United States have tried to influence policymaking efforts in the country by lobbying for Bitcoin Bitcoin While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that Read this Term and Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Read this Term-related causes in the first quarter of 2019, revealed political new portal Roll Call.

The entities were a part of a larger fintech lobbying group of 80 companies which spent $42 million in Q1 2019 to influence policymaking. The companies include prominent names in the industry like Coinbase, Square, MasterCard, and Ripple.

Although the biggest contributor was the US Chamber of Commerce with $16.4 million in spending, its focus remained in the fintech in general. MasterCard spent a total of $720,000 for pushing its causes, which included digital currency-related issues as well.

The United States' largest exchange and wallet platform Coinbase shelled out $50,000 to influence policies in areas like the Banking Secrecy Act. However, Coin Center, a cryptocurrency advocacy group, remained the largest direct crypto-related spender by spending $140,000 in both in-house lobbying and outside lobbying.

Major issues should be sorted out

The report outlined that the major concerns of the crypto-related companies lied in shaping the tax laws for the new industry along with the need for clear regulatory guidelines.

Tax laws related to crypto assets are murky in the US, and the process of filing income from crypto-related activities is a complex one.

Though the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) issued guidance for crypto tax laws, many issues remained unanswered. For instance, it is not clear how to handle tax documents when a blockchain forks resulting in the creating of two parallel digital currencies. “The IRS has given no guidance how they’d treat that, so people are guessing,” Jerry Brito, executive director at Coin Center, told the publication.

The lobby groups are also trying to bring clear laws for the involvement of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in initial coin offerings (ICOs). Last year, two lawmakers moved a bipartisan bill to exclude crypto from the existing securities law.

“That’s probably been our biggest focus,” Kristin Smith, director at Blockchain Association, told Roll Call. “And it will continue to be our biggest focus for the next couple of months.”