U.S
President
Joe
Biden
signed
a
veto
of
a
House
Joint
Resolution
that
would
have
repealed
the
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission’s
(SEC)
Staff
Accounting
Bulletin
121,
he
announced
Friday
afternoon.
SAB
121
is
a
controversial
piece
of
SEC
accounting
guidance
that
directs
financial
institutions
holding
crypto
for
customers
to
keep
the
assets
on
their
own
balance
sheets.
Critics
of
the
guidance
say
it
makes
it
too
difficult
for
financial
institutions
to
work
with
crypto
companies.
In
his
statement
announcing
the
veto,
Biden
said
he
would
not
support
any
“measures
that
jeopardize
the
well-being
of
consumers
and
investors.”
“By
virtue
of
invoking
the
Congressional
Review
Act,
this
Republican-led
resolution
would
inappropriately
constrain
the
SEC’s
ability
to
set
forth
appropriate
guardrails
and
address
future
issues,”
his
statement
said.
“This
reversal
of
the
considered
judgment
of
SEC
staff
in
this
way
risks
undercutting
the
SEC’s
broader
authorities
regarding
accounting
practices.”
Biden’s
statement
echoed
his
previous
comments
on
wanting
to
work
with
Congress
on
legislation
addressing
the
digital
asset
market,
saying
“appropriate
guardrails
that
protect
consumers
and
investors
are
necessary.”
The
veto
came
hours
after
banking
groups
and
members
of
Congress
sent
a
pair
of
letters
to
Biden’s
desk,
asking
him
to
sign
the
resolution
to
overturn
SAB
121.
The
banking
organizations’
letter
said
the
guidance,
which
the
Government
Accounting
Office
said
it
blocks
regulated
banking
groups
from
offering
custody
services.
The
lawmakers’
letter
urged
the
administration
to
at
least
work
with
the
SEC
to
rescind
the
guidance
if
Biden
still
intended
to
veto
the
resolution,
as
he
threatened
before
the
House
voted
on
the
measure.
The
resolution
passed
both
chambers
of
Congress
with
easy
majorities.
Earlier
Friday,
Sen.
Ron
Wyden
(D-Ore.),
a
member
of
Biden’s
party
who
voted
for
the
resolution,
said
the
guidance
creates
a
different
standard
for
crypto
than
other
assets
in
the
financial
sector
while
at
CoinDesk’s
Consensus
2024
conference
in
Austin,
Texas.
