Bitcoin advocacy groups have sent a letter to key congressional tax leaders, urging them to extend planned de minimis tax exemptions to Bitcoin and major network tokens, not just stablecoins. The coalition, including the Bitcoin Policy Institute, Bitcoin Voter, Blocks, Crypto Council, Digital Chamber, MoonPay, and River, warned that limiting relief solely to dollar-pegged stablecoins would fail to address compliance challenges for millions of Americans using crypto for everyday payments.
The letter was sent to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Michael Crapo and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith. It argues that current proposals to limit exemptions to payment stablecoins compliant with the GENIUS Act—signed into law in July—would undermine the purpose of tax reform. The IRS currently treats cryptocurrency as property, meaning even small transactions like buying coffee trigger taxable events requiring complex gain/loss calculations.
"Payment stablecoins do not operate in a vacuum; they run on open blockchain networks that rely on separate network tokens for consensus, security, and transaction execution," the coalition wrote. They contend that both asset types need relief for the policy to work.
The coalition proposed specific thresholds: cash-like treatment for GENIUS-compliant stablecoins with no limits, and a $25 billion market capitalization threshold for qualifying network tokens like Bitcoin, alongside a $600 per-transaction limit and a $20,000 annual cap. The letter cited Federal Reserve data showing roughly 7 million Americans used Bitcoin or other network tokens for payments in 2024, with over 3,500 merchants across all 50 states now accepting Bitcoin at point of sale.
This push revives an effort that stalled in July when Senator Cynthia Lummis failed to attach crypto tax amendments to a reconciliation bill. The urgency is heightened by new broker reporting rules (Form 1099-DA) for transactions occurring on or after January 1, 2025. "Without calibrated de minimis relief, the result will be widespread discrepancies, unnecessary audit risk, and reporting complexity vastly disproportionate to the economic substance of the transactions involved," the letter states.
Separately, more than 75 proposed amendments to major cryptocurrency legislation have been submitted by U.S. senators ahead of a critical Senate Banking Committee markup session scheduled for Thursday. The amendments cover a wide range, including proposals to ban returns on stablecoins entirely and to introduce anti-corruption and financial disclosure requirements. Key Democratic senators have raised ongoing ethical concerns regarding President Donald Trump and his family's connections to the crypto industry, which remain unresolved. While many amendments are unlikely to pass, the process highlights the contentious and complex nature of crafting comprehensive crypto regulation.
