US House may vote to overturn Biden’s SAB 121 veto next week

United States President Joe Biden’s controversial veto to block Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 could be overturned by the House of Representatives next week.

SAB 121 — a proposed rule mandating that SEC-reporting entities custodying cryptocurrencies record those holdings on their balance sheets — is currently on the House’s “legislation that may be considered” list, according to a weekly schedule posted by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.

The House has a constitutional obligation to vote to overturn or uphold presidential vetoes, so it must vote again. The votes could take place on Tuesday, July 9 or Wednesday, July 10.

A resolution to overturn the SEC’s SAB 121 rule received bipartisan support from the House (228–182 votes) and Senate (60–38) in May before it was vetoed by Biden later that month.

Opponents argue SAB 121 would prevent American banks from being able to custody cryptocurrency exchange-traded products at scale, potentially creating a “concentration risk” by handing over more control to non-bank entities.

However, a two-thirds majority vote from both the House and Senate will be needed to overturn Biden’s veto.

Only 55.6% and 61.2% of the House and Senate members voted for the resolution in May, meaning even more support is needed from Democrats this time.

“Steep hill to climb but not impossible given how bipartisan the FIT vote was,” explained Alexander Grieve, who tackles government affairs issues at cryptocurrency investment firm Paradigm.

The Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, aimed at providing clarity over how the US commodities and securities regulators handle cryptocurrency-related matters, was passed 279–136 by the House in May.

Related: Taiwan Mobile receives VASP license, entry to crypto market

Meanwhile, Biden and Republican Party candidate Donald Trump continue to up their campaign efforts in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election in November.

Both candidates have paid more attention to digital asset-related issues in recent months, which is a “good development” for the industry, Kerri Langlais, chief security officer at Bitcoin miner TeraWulf recently told Cointelegraph.

“Albeit to different degrees, both Biden and Trump’s original positions on crypto have shifted favorably our way in the last year. We should continue to build on that progress with our education and political efforts.”

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