…The biggest hurdle for the industry has always been legislative: securing #regulations that confer legitimacy without adding onerous requirements. And for that, executives & lobbyists had to turn their full attention to #Congress.

Ahead of the 2024 election cycle, a network of #SiliconValley #crypto executives & political strategists set their sights on DC. They formed a number of crypto-focused super PACs which spent a total of >$130M to #influence tight congressional races nationally.

[#Republicans loosening of #cryptocurrency #regulations] has coincided w/Trump’s family’s rapid expansion into the industry, which has made #Trump into a #crypto dealer who stands to make huge sums of money from it.

In a #policy stmnt released before the final vote, WH ofcls wrote that the bill “removes #regulatory uncertainty that has hindered *innovation & competitiveness* [#fraud & #MoneyLaundering] in the digital assets sector.”

It represented a significant step toward giving the #cryptocurrency industry what it has long sought from Washington: credibility….

…The #legislation’s success reflects the dramatic shift that has taken place in Washington as #Republicans have consolidated a governing trifecta.

While the #Biden admin cracked down on digital assets, #Trump has pulled back sharply on such #regulations [because he personally profits from #crypto]….

#Senate passage came over the fierce objections of #Democrats, who warned that the measure lacked strict-enough #regulations or #oversight to prevent abuses, including
anti-#corruption rules that would bar #Trump & his family from continuing to #profit from #cryptocurrency.

The bill still must be passed by the #House & signed by Trump. But the 68-30 vote in the Senate marked the first time the chamber has approved major cryptocurrency #legislation.

“More people will die,” said Cory Zigler, a professor of biostatistics at Brown who has studied #air #pollution #deaths from #coal-fired #PowerPlants. “More of this type of pollution that we know kills people will be in the air.”

…Virtually all the benefits from the rules come from restricting the burning of coal, #oil & natural #gas. The #FossilFuel industry was a heavy contributor to #Trump’s campaign & #Republicans overall.

…experts say the numbers are conservative & that even a partial dismantling of the rules would mean more #pollutants such as #smog, #mercury & #lead — & especially more tiny airborne particles that can lodge in lungs & cause #health problems. It would also mean higher #emissions of the #GreenhouseGases driving Earth’s warming to deadlier levels.

The #EPA-targeted rules could prevent an estimated 30,000 #deaths & save $275 billion each year they are in effect, acc/to an AP examination that included the agency’s own prior assessments as well as a wide range of other research.