On February 9, the American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C., the Washington Nationals, announced the team has partnered with Terra, the open-source blockchain platform and decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The Washington Nationals detail that the team is a “leading innovator” and is “consistently introducing new technologies to enhance the fan experience.” Washington Nationals Ink Long-Term Deal With Terra Major League Baseball (MLB) team the Washington Nationals has partnered with the blockchain platform and DAO Terra, according to an announcement published by the team on Wednesday. The deal with Terra follows a slew of sports-related deals with crypto firms, but the MLB team will be the first to partner with an open-source blockchain project. In addition to the partnership, the algorithmic stablecoin UST that’s issued on the Terra blockchain will be “accepted as a payment method at Nationals Park as early as next season.” “The Nationals continue t...
U.S. Senator Pat Toomey has called on Congress to stop the Treasury Department from maximizing its ability to regulate and tax crypto by picking winners and losers. “Congress should not allow that to happen,” he said.
US Senator Urges Lawmakers Not to Crush Crypto Innovation
Following the endorsement of a crypto tax amendment by the White House, concerns have been raised that the U.S. government is picking winners and losers in the crypto space.
Two crypto tax amendments to the $1 trillion infrastructure bill have been introduced but the White House has chosen to endorse the one that favors proof-of-work over all other consensus mechanisms, including proof-of-stake.
Senator Pat Toomey is one of the sponsors of the amendment that is not endorsed by the Biden administration but has gained support within the crypto community. He tweeted Friday:
While I appreciate that my colleagues and the White House have acknowledged their original crypto tax had flaws, the Warner-Portman amendment picks winners and losers based on the type of technology employed. That’s horrible for innovation.
“The Warner-Portman plan exempts bitcoin miners, but not other transaction validators or software developers who create these platforms,” Toomey added. “What does that mean? Two identical services could receive dramatically different regulatory treatment depending on the technology used.”
The senator elaborated:
US Treasury wants maximum flexibility to regulate and tax crypto as they see fit. Congress should not allow that to happen.
“Now isn’t the time for the IRS to pick winners and losers with a new technology. Crypto has the potential to be the future of the internet,” he further opined. “How foolish to crush it over a tax provision that possibly raises just $500 million per year more in a $1.2 trillion bill.”
Senator Toomey added that “The first principle here should be: do no harm,” noting that “The Warner-Portman-Sinema amendment will drive developers to create software outside of the U.S.”
He proceeded to urge lawmakers not to rush to impose regulations and “get it wrong,” calling for a full public debate to protect American innovation “before potentially disruptive changes are made that push crypto overseas.”
What do you think about the U.S. government attempting to pick winners and losers in crypto? Let us know in the comments section below.
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