U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) has introduced new legislation aimed at overhauling the taxation of digital assets in the United States. The proposal seeks to address several issues that have affected users and businesses involved with cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.
“In order to maintain our competitive edge, we must change our tax code to embrace our digital economy, not burden digital asset users,” said Lummis. “This groundbreaking legislation is fully paid-for, cuts through the bureaucratic red tape and establishes common-sense rules that reflect how digital technologies function in the real world. We cannot allow our archaic tax policies to stifle American innovation, and my legislation ensures Americans can participate in the digital economy without inadvertent tax violations.”
The bill contains a range of measures including a $300 de minimis rule for small transactions, which aims to reduce compliance burdens for everyday uses such as purchasing coffee with Bitcoin. This threshold is intended to balance practical usability with tax compliance requirements.
Additional provisions would end what the legislation describes as double taxation on digital asset miners and stakers by deferring income recognition until actual economic benefit is realized. It also extends existing securities lending rules to cover digital assets, aiming to remove immediate tax consequences from temporary lending arrangements.
Changes are proposed for wash sale rules, bringing both securities and digital assets under similar treatment to prevent investors from exploiting loopholes unavailable to those trading traditional securities. Dealers and traders in digital assets would be able to elect mark-to-market accounting treatment, similar to what is available for other financial instruments.
For charitable contributions, the bill exempts actively traded digital assets from qualified appraisal requirements if donated, aligning their treatment with publicly traded securities.
Senator Lummis welcomed public feedback on the legislative package as it moves forward: “I welcome public comments on this legislation as we seek to get this package to the President’s desk.”
According to estimates from the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, these changes could generate about $600 million in net revenue between 2025 and 2034.
