House fails to override veto of anti-SAB 121 bill 

Representatives on Thursday opted to back President Biden and uphold his veto of the legislation that sought to invalidate SAB 121

share

The US House of Representatives voted Thursday to uphold President Joe Biden’s veto of Joint Resolution 109, the legislation that sought to invalidate the Securities and Exchange Commission’s staff accounting bill 121. 

Two hundred and twenty-eight Representatives voted to overturn the veto while 184 voted to uphold Biden’s decision. A two thirds majority — 290 out of 435 Reps. — was needed to override the veto.

Representatives voted on the measure late Thursday morning after the vote was delayed Wednesday evening. 

Read more: Biden backs Gensler as House advances resolution to power-check SEC 

House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., spoke in favor of overriding the veto Wednesday, arguing the bipartisan support the resolution received is proof Reps. should stand their ground. 

“​​SAB 121 is one of the most glaring examples of the regulatory overreach that has defined Chair Gary Gensler’s tenure at the [SEC],” McHenry said. “It limits consumers options to safely custody their digital assets, upending decades of bank custody practices and increasing concentration risk.” 

Read more from our opinion section: It’s time to overturn SAB 121

The House and Senate passed Joint Resolution 109 in May. The legislation, if passed, would have overturned SAB 121, the accounting guidance that states digital asset custodians should report a liability and “corresponding assets” on their balance sheets for all custodied cryptocurrencies. 

Each chamber approved the resolution, which was brought under the Congressional Review Act, with bipartisan support. Thirty-three Democrats in total voted in favor of the legislation across both chambers. 

President Biden, as expected, vetoed the resolution shortly after it was passed. His administration stated that by invoking the Congressional Review Act, lawmakers could “inappropriately constrain the SEC’s ability to ensure appropriate guardrails.”

“President Biden vetoed the first digital asset-specific legislation that ever passed the House and the Senate,” McHenry said. “It’s never been clearer; this administration would rather play politics and side with power-hungry bureaucrats over the American people.”


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research

article-image

Coinbase Asset Management and One River CEO Eric Peters explains why crypto’s not yet focused on fundamentals

article-image

Over the past 24 hours, PumpSwap’s largest liquidity pool by volume contains tokens with the tickers DOGEMOON and ballscoin

article-image

10T Holdings’ Dan Tapiero predicts crypto listings on exchanges are a “mini step” for value moving onchain

article-image

The S&P 500 was mostly flat after a month of losses, and the Nasdaq has been slowly gaining

article-image

Movement Labs is once again at the core of some criticism after it declined to name a market maker offboarded by Binance

article-image

Experts discuss the future of crypto ETFs as Trump puts “money where his mouth is”