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Nine Senate Democrats supported a cryptocurrency bill coming out of committee. Trump and Republicans thought they had an easy win, but progressives in the Senate Democratic caucus have been sounding the alarm about crypto being used as a vehicle for corruption by the president, and have been demanding that the legislation contain stronger rules and regulations.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) sided with the progressives and got Democrats to block the bill that Trump wants.
Semafor reported:
Nine pro-crypto Democratic senators are withholding their votes for legislation that would create rules for stablecoins — a type of crypto pegged to assets like the US dollar — in hopes they can convince Republicans to beef up the bill’s provisions on national security and consumer protection.
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Schumer worked this week to unify his caucus around demanding changes to the bill rather than letting Democrats splinter on the first floor vote. After persistent fury from the left over his handling of government funding, he’s taken a firmer hand on crypto and openly sided with progressives — what may be a taste of things to come this year as the party takes advantage of the filibuster, its last leverage over Trump’s agenda.
Trump wants this bill. The president and his wealthy allies have been cashing in on various crypto scams since before he took office.
Senate Democrats are figuring it out.