4-7-2025 – Senator Cynthia Lummis has filed comprehensive cryptocurrency tax legislation aimed at eliminating what she describes as “outdated” rules that penalize digital asset users and blockchain participants.

The bill’s centerpiece establishes a $300 transaction threshold for tax-free crypto payments, allowing users to purchase goods and services without triggering reporting requirements. Annual tax-free gains would be capped at $5,000, with the threshold indexed to inflation starting in 2026. The provision addresses long-standing complaints that current tax law makes routine crypto spending impractical.

Mining and staking operations would receive significant relief under the proposal. Rather than facing immediate tax obligations upon receiving tokens, participants would only owe taxes when selling or using the assets. The change eliminates what industry advocates call “double taxation” scenarios that have deterred blockchain participation.

Additional provisions extend stock lending tax treatments to crypto lending arrangements and streamline charitable donation processes for commonly traded digital assets by removing costly appraisal requirements.

Lummis projects the legislation could generate approximately $600 million in tax revenue over the next decade while positioning the United States as a more attractive jurisdiction for crypto innovation. The Wyoming Republican emphasized that the bill aims to keep blockchain development domestic rather than driving it overseas through regulatory uncertainty.

Though the proposal was not included in recent omnibus legislation, Lummis expressed confidence in its standalone passage prospects. Public comment periods are now open as the bill begins its legislative journey.