Janet Yellen Has Been Lobbying Against Wyden-Lummis-Toomey Crypto Amendment: Report

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has been lobbying against cryptocurrency legislation being proposed by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and other senators as part of the bipartisan infrastructure bill, according to a Washington Post report published on Friday.

• Yellen spoke with Wyden on Thursday to push back against the attempt to limit a proposal in the bill that would increase federal regulation of cryptocurrencies, according to the publication, citing two people familiar with the matter. 
• Senators Wyden, Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) proposed their amendment on Wednesday to ensure that miners, node operators, developers and other non-custodial crypto industry participants are exempt from the crypto tax reporting provision.
• The White House is officially supporting a competing amendment sponsored by Senators Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) that excludes proof-of-work miners from the reporting provision.
• “We believe that the alternative amendment put forward by Senator Warner, Portman and Cinema strikes the right balance and makes an important step forward in promoting tax compliance,” the White House said in a tweet Thursday evening.
• Senators had hoped to pass the bipartisan bill on Thursday night, but debate continued and issues remained unresolved around the cryptocurrency regulations.
• A Treasury spokesperson declined to comment on the matter when contacted by CoinDesk. 

UPDATE (August 6, 14:31 UTC): Updated with additional details in the third and fourth bullet points.