Over 40 US Republicans Urge SEC to Repeal Crypto Bill SAB121

US Republicans have stepped up their efforts for a crypto-friendly environment in the country as they urged the Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) to repeal crypto bill  SAB 121.

More than 40 Republican members of Congress from both chambers have written to the SEC  in a letter today to rescind SAB 121 which mandates that SEC-reporting entities custodying cryptos must account those holdings as liabilities on their balance sheets.

The letter said, “Both the House and Senate vote on H.J. Res. 109 sent a clear message from Congress to the SEC. Issuing staff guidance to impose policy changes is not appropriate and violates both the spirit and the letter of the Administrative Procedure Act. We urge you to rescind SAB 121.”

House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry, Senator Cynthia Lummis and 40 other politicians wrote that SAB 121 overturns custody rules for cryptocurrencies, weakens consumer security, and hinders financial innovation.

The letter claims that SAB was issued without consulting any “prudent regulators” and that the manner in which accounting is done, “deviates from established accounting standards.”

House Reps French Hill, Tom Emmer, and Senators Bill Hagerty and Tim Scott were among some of the signatories of the letter. 

Politicians have also accused the SEC’s Office of Chief Accountant with inconsistency as they supposedly work with some organizations to avoid the balance sheet reporting requirements. Bank of New York, the largest custodian bank in the US, for instance, was exempted from SAB 121.

Alpha: This letter to the #SEC come a day before Gensler will testify in front of the Committee that signed the letter. This is no co-incidence – we will stream the hearing live tomorrow and see if they question Gensler on his response to their letter. Remember the House and…

— MartyParty (@martypartymusic) September 23, 2024

Crypto commentator and Macro analyst, MartyParty has also commented on the letter, “IMO: If this rule is removed it could be the most bullish event in US crypto adoption ever.”

Also Read: How will SEC Crypto Oversight Hearing Affect Market?