How cryptocurrency became a powerful force in Washington

The infrastructure bill is in part stalled as negotiations proceed on how closely to regulate the crypto industry

By Todd C. Frankel

Jeff Stein

Jacqueline Alemany

and

Hamza Shaban

August 7, 2021 at 7:17 p.m. EDT

Attendees take part in the bitcoin 2021 Convention, a cryptocurrency conference held in June in Miami, which drew an estimated 50,000 people. As the infrastructure bill moves forward and lawmakers and regulators seek to rein in the industry, cryptocurrency companies are increasing their presence on Capitol Hill. (Joe Raedle/Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty I)

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At 2:36 p.m. Wednesday, the message went out on Twitter: “Crypto Red Alert!”

The message, from a left-leaning tech advocacy group called Fight for the Future, urged people to call U.S. senators to object to one provision of new rules for cryptocurrencies in the massive federal infrastructure bill. Senate offices were swamped with phone calls. Opposition to the provision came from the likes of Jack Dorsey, the head of Twitter and Square, and Brian Brooks, a top banking regulator during the Trump administration who had become a key crypto executive.