BREAKING: US Treasury Axes Crypto Tax Rule—Industry Cheers as Red Tape Unravels
The US Treasury just handed crypto investors an early Christmas present—scrapping a controversial tax reporting rule that had the industry up in arms.
Backpedaling on Bureaucracy
In a move that’ll save traders headaches (and accountants billable hours), the Treasury nixed requirements that critics called 'unworkable.' No more wrestling with vague transaction thresholds or murky broker definitions.
Market Reacts in Real-Time
Bitcoin popped 2% on the news—because nothing makes crypto rally faster than regulators stepping back. Traders are now betting this opens floodgates for institutional cash previously scared off by compliance nightmares.
The Fine Print
Don’t pop champagne yet—the IRS still wants its cut. This just simplifies *how* you report, not *whether* you owe. And knowing Washington, they’ll probably replace it with something equally convoluted by Q1.
Bottom Line
A rare win for crypto pragmatism over political posturing. Now if they’d just tackle those capital gains rules…
Crypto Taxes and the US Treasury
Over the last few months, a sweeping tide of pro-crypto regulations has hit the US.
Enforcement agencies have exposed systemic mistreatment of the industry, the Federal Reserve is loosening restrictive rules, and the Treasury is now repealing the IRS’ recent policy on tax reporting.
US Treasury’s crypto broker rule has been KILLED.
Bitcoin in self-custody in US is safe for now.
No KYC on code.
No IRS dragnet on peer-to-peer.
No chokehold on self-custody.
Centralized exchanges still report.
But Bitcoin stays free in self-custody.
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So, what was this controversial rule? The IRS issued these guidelines in late 2024, after Harris lost the election, but before TRUMP took office. Essentially, the Treasury would require all crypto vendors to act like registered brokers, detailing and reporting all transactions to determine user tax obligations. This might create an immense burden on DeFi.
However, TD 10021, RIN 1545-BR39, was not set to take effect until 2027. According to coverage from Bloomberg, the Treasury’s change on crypto tax reporting has been brewing for a while.
President Trump encouraged Congress to pass legislation repealing the rule, and this went through in April. It’s taken extra time to fully finalize the repeal.
The community responded very positively to the Treasury’s change on tax policy, but there may have been some fearmongering about the actual rule’s implications. Although
For example, it explicitly ruled out imposing these restrictions on code, focusing on front-end services interacting with users. The policy wouldn’t necessarily restrict self-custody either.
Furthermore, as industry representatives pointed out yesterday, blockchain transaction data is highly traceable.
Still, it seems bullish that the Treasury is explicitly repealing this tax reporting rule. The institution has made several pro-crypto decisions in recent months, removing sanctions on Tornado Cash in March.
Hopefully, its new pro-crypto turn can continue fighting corruption and protecting consumers.
