Ted Cruz seeks repeal of Biden infrastructure bill's crypto broker definition

Texas Senator Ted Cruz is seeking to strip language defining who is a crypto "broker" from a multibillion-dollar infrastructure package that was just signed into law. 

According to a statement from Cruz's office, the proposed legislation would, if passed, remove language aimed at tightening reporting requirements for "brokers" in the digital asset space. The legislation mirrors an earlier attempt by Cruz to eliminate the language from the infrastructure package in August, as previously reported. 

The original inclusion triggered a raft of efforts by crypto industry advocates to either amend or remove the language, though these efforts ultimately failed. The infrastructure package was signed into law Monday by US president Joe Biden. Supporters of the definitions have said the expanded definition would help provide funding for the infrastructure package. 

Notably, some of the other senators involved in the pushback have proposed their own legislation that would revise some of those rules. 

By contrast, Cruz is once again trying to cut the provisions entirely.

"As a deliberative body, the Senate should have done its job and held hearings to properly understand the consequences of legislating on this emerging industry before we risked the livelihoods and privacy of participating Americans," Cruz said in a statement. "I urge my colleagues in the Senate to repeal this harmful language that will create regulatory uncertainty and in turn an unnecessary barrier to innovation."