Capping a hectic week on both the crypto and political fronts, US President Joe Biden notified Congress on Friday that he was vetoing a bipartisan resolution that sought to revoke the Securities and Exchange Commission's authority that has been criticized for preventing banks from offering cryptocurrency custody services.
“Overriding SEC staff's considered judgment in this way risks weakening the SEC's broader authority over accounting practices,” the White House notice read. “My Administration will not support measures that jeopardize the well-being of consumers and investors.”
“Therefore, I veto this resolution,” Biden concluded.
The fight over Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 121 (separate from the 21st Century Financial Innovation and Technology Act (FIT21)) has been going on for over a year, with Biden threatening to veto the bill on the same day it passed the U.S. House of Representatives in a bipartisan vote of 228-182.
The Senate followed suit, with 12 Democrats joining most Republicans in voting 60-38 in favor of repealing the policy.
In his veto notice, President Biden criticized the bill for citing the Congressional Review Act as a basis for the oversight asserted by lawmakers in their challenge, as he did when he first voiced his opposition to the bill.
“This Republican-led resolution will inappropriately limit the SEC's ability to develop appropriate guidelines and address future issues,” the president wrote today.
On May 8, he argued that “limiting the SEC's ability to maintain a comprehensive and effective financial regulatory framework for cryptoassets would create significant financial instability and market uncertainty.”
Biden has signaled he is open to working with Congress to craft a “balanced regulatory framework for digital assets,” the ostensible goal of the FIT21 bill, which Biden also opposes, but has not threatened to veto it as he did with SAB121.
The FIT21 Act, which would create a federal framework for regulating digital assets, was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last week with the support of 71 Democrats and all but three Republicans, demonstrating the issue's influence in moving lawmakers across party lines.
The announcement came a day after former President Donald Trump, a presumed Republican rival in the November presidential election, was found guilty in a New York court of all 34 criminal counts against him. Trump has recently focused on boosting the crypto vote as it becomes an increasingly important campaign issue.
