Next week, the House of Representatives could cast a decisive vote on President Joe Biden’s veto of the contentious Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 (SAB 121). This proposed rule, requiring SEC-reporting entities to account for cryptocurrencies on their balance sheets, is on the House’s “legislation that may be considered” list, as per a schedule from House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.
A constitutional duty, the House must vote again on the presidential veto, with the votes potentially happening on Tuesday or Wednesday. Back in May, a bipartisan majority in both the House (228-182) and Senate (60-38) voted to overturn SAB 121 before Biden’s veto later that month.
Critics argue that SAB 121 would restrict American banks from managing cryptocurrency exchange-traded products at scale, leading to a “concentration risk” by shifting control to non-bank entities. To override Biden’s veto, a two-thirds majority in both chambers is necessary.
Given the earlier support—55.6% in the House and 61.2% in the Senate—the resolution will need additional backing, particularly from Democrats, to succeed. Alexander Grieve of Paradigm, a cryptocurrency investment firm, noted, “Steep hill to climb but not impossible given how bipartisan the FIT vote was.”
The Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, which aims to clarify the roles of U.S. commodities and securities regulators in cryptocurrency matters, was passed by the House with a strong majority (279–136) in May.
As the 2024 U.S. election approaches, President Biden and Republican candidate Donald Trump are intensifying their campaigns, both increasingly focusing on digital assets.
Kerri Langlais, chief security officer at Bitcoin miner TeraWulf, said that this shift in attention is a positive development for the industry. “Albeit to different degrees, both Biden and Trump’s original positions on crypto have shifted favorably our way in the last year. We should continue to build on that progress with our education and political efforts,” Langlais emphasized.
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