Unbanked's Kane on infrastructure bill: crypto will 'win the war'

Upgrading and maintaining roads, bridges and airports is a topic that both sides of the political aisle can agree on. But when it came time for the US Senate to vote on an infrastructure bill, cryptocurrencies ended up being thrown in the mix and lots of people were frustrated.

To better understand what is going on in Washington, Invezz spoke with Ian Kane, co-founder of Unbanked, a US-based cryptocurrency banking service.

The infrastructure bill

The US Senate succeeded in passing a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that includes language that requires cryptocurrency brokers to report customer information to the Internal Revenue Service. But the language is vague to the point where it defines a broker as any entity “responsible for regularly providing any service effectuating transfers of digital assets on behalf of another person”.

In other words, this means that crypto miners and stakers, along with software developers and many other individuals with no customers would be impacted.

In theory, this means that two friends transferring Bitcoin to each other to settle a bill would fit under the definition of a broker.

Is the crypto industry losing the battle?

The cryptocurrency is naturally up in arms over the vague language that represents a potential headwind for the entire industry. CNBC commented that the crypto industry is “a little bruised” -- a take that Kane agrees with. He told Invezz:

The crypto industry is unified and won new support from US lawmakers. US Rep. Anna Eshoo, a close ally and friend to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, wrote that the definition of a crypto broker is “problematic” and needs to be amended.

The damages of keeping the “exceptionally vague” language will push many crypto companies outside of the US, Kane said. This is a selling point that needs to be articulated by crypto and blockchain companies.

Decade-long battle

The cryptocurrency industry is no stranger to fighting for its interests. Companies have been engaged in a decade-long pursuit to convince lawmakers and the public it is not only a legitimate store of value, but a tool that can “improve people’s lives,” Kane said.

The Blockchain Caucus and the Blockchain Association bring a “professional tone” to help in the fight while individual people are leveraging the power of social media to make their voices heard. Kane said:

Fortunately, people from both sides of the aisles can rally around the shared cause of promoting the crypto industry. Rational observers agree that the US is the world leader in embracing new technology and letting capitalism play out and improve people’s lives.

Once the industry gets its message across, it “becomes a no-brainer” that the crypto industry needs to flourish and become void of overregulation.

Listen to the people

Out-of-touch politicians that don’t understand the crypto and blockchain universe are “doing a disservice” to everybody, including themselves, Kane said. Many Senators are over the age of 60 and are simply strangers to modern technology.

These politicians can “set us back years” by introducing punitive policies that go against what many people want. He said: