Crypto pumps, US infrastructure bill vote meanders, Gene Simmons sure knows something

The fight for American crypto’s liberty has been taking place in the US Senate since the early hours of Sunday, AEST. Governmental wheels turn painfully slowly but the political ramblings still managed to catch the attention of Gene Simmons, of KISS fame.

The US Senate “action” has been going for about seven hours at the time of writing, and the livestream has been rock’n’roll stuff.

For kicks, Stockhead has checked in every so often. Some of the highlights we’ve caught have included: 15-minute long roll calls, senators quoting American founding fathers and Winston Churchill, reminiscences on student life in the 1950s, and a heads-up about a volleyball tournament in West Virginia.

Whether or not Cardano (ADA)-fan Gene Simmons has been watching it all from a hot tub full of KISS Army groupies drinking expensive Champagne, he’s made it clear he’s been rooting for the side of crypto. And misspelling names.

The endorsement we didn’t know we needed. https://t.co/j49aWcaQkZ

— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) August 7, 2021

Some developments to give hopium?

Since we started writing this piece, the vote on the crypto-tax-related amendment to the bipartisan infrastructure bill has still not taken place. In fact, the US Senate has just adjourned until 12 noon on Sunday (EDT), which is 2am Monday, AEST.

But… there have been a few developments on the sidelines that could give at least some hope to US crypto participants.

• The Portman-Warner-Sinema amendment has been amended… again. It’s now been changed to protect not just proof-of-work crypto consensus protocols (eg. Bitcoin) from the stifling tax reporting. But it’s still pretty opaque and certainly isn’t wowing crypto-industry figures.

Sen. Warner has changed his amendment to protect consensus mechanisms beyond PoW. A small positive step, but not nearly good enough.

It's just unreal that this is how Congress wants to handle major crypto legislation. We need time to make smart decisions. This process is broken. https://t.co/NftUjfnqHI

— Jake Chervinsky (@jchervinsky) August 7, 2021

• Ted Cruz, a Republican Senator for Texas has thrown his support behind the pro-crypto, “pro-innovation” amendment option (Wyden-Lummis-Toomey). Cruz has reportedly also filed to strike the crypto regulations from the bill entirely.

• Another Republican, Senator Bill Hegarty, also questioned the need to expedite voting without proper due diligence given to the 2,702-page infrastructure bill.

Right now, supporters of crypto & blockchain are LOSING this fight that will define crypto’s future.

That’s why I’m proud to cosponsor the @RonWyden, @SenLummis, @SenToomey crypto amendment.

It’s a major improvement over what is in the underlying bill & a must pass amendment.

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) August 7, 2021

JUST IN: Ted Cruz has filed to strike the #crypto regulation from the Infrastructure Bill

— Altcoin Daily (@AltcoinDailyio) August 7, 2021

I’m on the #Senate floor laying out why I refuse to expedite a vote on final passage of this infrastructure bill that adds to the deficit.

WATCH: https://t.co/YaTK24l6Lc

— Senator Bill Hagerty (@SenatorHagerty) August 7, 2021

Meanwhile, crypto has been pumping

Despite the fate of cryptocurrencies in the US seemingly hanging in the balance, the crypto market has been having a very green day – with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) paving the way for plenty of alts to follow.

Some notable double-digit gainers in the altcoins today include: Dogecoin (DOGE) +23.6%; Qtum (QTUM) +22.5%; and the Aussie-founded, play-to-earn battler Illuvium (ILV), up 15.3% at the time of writing, having hit another all-time high today of US$379.92.