Crypto, DeFi Companies Urge White House to Clarify Tax and Trading Rules for Digital Assets

The letter was spearheaded by the Solana Policy Institute and co-signed by major industry players including the Blockchain Association, the Crypto Council for Innovation, and the Digital Securities Initiative.

The recommended steps covered four main areas of concern. On tax policy, the groups urge the White House to direct the Treasury Department “revise or clarify tax guidance related to digital asset mining and staking rewards,” clarify rules for collateral, liquidations, and forced sales, and clarify treatment of airdrops, forks, and rebase events “to prevent phantom income and align taxation with economic reality.”

On regulatory clarity, the letter asks the president to prod the SEC and CFTC to “embrace self-custody as a matter of Administration policy … and issue guidance where necessary to protect all Americans’ right to self-custody,” and ensure that the SEC “expedites review and timely implementation of the Spring 2025 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Action.”

On promoting DeFi innovation the groups want the SEC and CFTC to “utilize their existing authority to provide exemptive relief for digital assets and DeFi technology,” they want FinCEN to issue “updated guidance clarifying that the Bank Secrecy Act does not apply to noncustodial blockchain software,” and they want Treasury to “expressly discontinue and disavow FinCEN’s” proposal to classify convertible virtual currency mixing as a class of transactions of concern under anti-money laundering rules.

On protecting digital assets and software innovation the groups ask that the Justice Department model Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to protect developers of DeFi technology from civil liability, and drop all pending charges against Roman Storm relating to North Korean hackers use of the open-source Tornado Cash software to transfer $1 billion in “dirty money.”

The letter reflects the growing impatience with Congress within the DeFi and digital asset industries. While Congress passed and Trump signed the GENIUS Act establishing rules for issuing and trading stablecoins, work on broader market structure rules for digital assets has stalled.

The House passed the Clarity Act in May, which aims to clarify jurisdictional lines for the SEC and CFTC with respect to digital assets and authorizes the agencies to issue appropriate regulations. But market structure legislation remains bogged down in the Senate.

“Our industry is working closely with your Administration, the House of Representatives, and the United States Senate to get a market structure bill on your desk as soon as possible,” the letter said.

Crypto currencies have also experienced sharp declines in recent weeks, adding to industry worries. Bitcoin has fallen by close to 30% from its peak in October, shedding nearly $800 billion in value. Crypto coins overall have dropped by $1 trillion in a month.

Clarifying the regulatory treatment of non-stablecoin crypto currencies and digital assets could help stabilize the market.