Ethereum, Bitcoin trading higher as US Senate discusses cryptocurrency
Trio of senators introduced amendment to infrastructure bill that would rewrite part of a section, setting up reporting requirements for crypto transactions
Ethereum was making strong gains early Thursday morning, while Bitcoin was trading slightly higher, reports said.
Ethereum coins were trading at $2,634, up more than 6.6% per token, while Bitcoin was trading at $38,480, up a modest 1.94%, respectively, Coindesk reported.
Rival Dogecoin was trading near 20 cents per coin – up 1.5% -- and XRP was at 71 cents, or 2.5% per coin, the report said.
SENATORS AIM TO CLARIFY CRYPTOCURRENCY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS WITH AMENDMENT TO INFRASTRUCTURE BILL
In other cryptocurrency news, a trio of U.S. senators on Wednesday introduced an amendment to the bipartisan infrastructure bill that would rewrite part of a section, setting up reporting requirements for cryptocurrency transactions.
Sens. Cynthia Lummis, Pat Toomey and Ron Wyden started working on an amendment after pointing to "unworkable" and "overly broad" language which they say would implement "broker" reporting requirements on people who are not really brokers.
Both Ethereum and Bitcoin were up early Thursday. (iStock)
These people, like the bitcoin miners who confirm transactions in the system, would not even be capable of satisfying the requirements in the bill, Toomey, R-Pa., said.
"Digital assets are here to stay. While much more work needs to be done, this amendment is a responsible step toward fully incorporating digital assets into the U.S. financial sector," Lummis, R-Wyo., said in a statement. "The digital asset and financial technology space is incredibly complicated, and we have spent long hours working in the Senate, with industry stakeholders, and with the Administration to find a way to effectively integrate digital assets into our tax code without harming the technology or stifling innovation."
JPMorgan Chase began pitching its private bank clients on an in-house bitcoin fund for the first time this week, completing its transformation from the never-bitcoin mega-bank to a genuine player in the digital assets space, Coindesk reported.
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According to two sources, the passively managed fund, offered in partnership with bitcoin powerhouse NYDIG, doesn’t have any client investments at the current time. However, that may change soon; advisers were briefed on the fund in a launch call with the bank. JPMorgan declined to comment.
The fund, which CoinDesk revealed in late April, will be presented to clients as the safest and cheapest bitcoin investment vehicle available on the private markets, the sources said.