US Crypto Industry Calls on Congress to Block New DeFi Broker Regulations

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced new regulations on Dec. 27 that define some decentralized finance (DeFi) agreements as broker-dealers and require customer identification (KYC) obligations, sparking strong opposition from the crypto industry. The regulation is expected to affect up to 875 DeFi brokers and 2.6 million taxpayers. Criticized by legal experts for allegedly overstepping its authority and potentially violating constitutional rights, Alexander Grieve, vice president of Paradigm, called on the new “pro-crypto Congress” to repeal the rule through the Congressional Review Act (CRA). The Blockchain Institute called the rule a “last-ditch attempt to push the U.S. crypto industry overseas” and said it would take action to fight it. As previously reported, the IRS requires “DeFi brokers” to collect user transaction information.