In a potential victory for cryptocurrencies, a bipartisan group of senators on Wednesday introduced an amendment to the recent infrastructure bill due to language that may have posed a threat to innovation and investment in the industry.

The amendment was written by Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., who sought to ensure the term “broker” excludes validators, miners, transaction validators, hardware and software developers.

“By clarifying the definition of broker, our amendment will ensure non-financial intermediaries like miners, network validators, and other service providers are not subject to the reporting requirements specified in the bipartisan infrastructure package,” said Toomey.

Wyden pointed out that the “amendment makes sure that reporting does not apply to individuals developing blockchain technology and wallets. This will protect American innovation while at the same time ensuring those who buy and sell cryptocurrency pay the taxes they already owe."

Blockchain acts as a ledger for record-keeping technology and has applications that extend beyond cryptocurrency.

“Investors failing to pay what they owe is a real problem, and I strongly support third-party reporting by exchanges where cryptocurrency is bought, sold, and traded,” Wyden added.

Industry groups such as Coinbase, Blockchain, Coincenter, Rabbit Capital, and Square quickly issued a statement on the bipartisan proposal.

“Senators Wyden, Lummis, and Toomey are right that this language would place unworkable requirements on a nascent industry,” the companies said.

“Clarifying the provision to address our concerns would not affect the reporting requirements on crypto exchanges that operate on behalf of customers."

A spokesperson for Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio., said the legislation would not force non-brokers to comply with IRS obligations.

“This is one of the ironies in the crypto space: The crypto industry would like to have the government’s imprimatur, because it gives them legitimacy. But once they have to deal with the specifics of being regulated — like reporting requirements — they do not like it,” cryptocurrency expert Eswar Prasad, an economist at Cornell University, told the Washington Post.

The Biden administration has sought to raise revenue by having cryptocurrencies face tax scrutiny.