For millions of people in the United States, the daily gesture of paying for a product with bitcoin (BTC) hides an administrative trap. This is because under current law, every transaction—no matter how small—is considered a “disposition of ownership,” forcing the user to calculate whether they made or lost money compared to the price at which they acquired the asset. To put an end to this “disproportionate complexity,” a coalition of industry heavyweights sent a formal letter to the US Congress. The objective is to obtain de minimis tax relief, an exemption that would allow carry out small transactions without the constant shadow of an audit.
The petition, filed on January 12, 2026, was addressed to fiscal committee chairs Michael Crapo and Jason Smith. Signatories include the Bitcoin Policy Institute and companies such as Block, MoonPay and River, as well as the Crypto Council for Innovation. The central argument is that the legal framework has lagged behind technological reality. Although the recent GENIUS Law (2025) already provides benefits to regulated stablecoins, The sector demands that this deal be extended to bitcoin and other major digital assets. “Without calibrated tax relief, the result will be unnecessary audit risk for the average citizen,” the letter warns. In essence, the industry argues that declaring cents of profit for a daily purchase does not make economic sense for either the taxpayer or the State.
They argue that using stablecoins requires paying fees in BTC, so excluding it defeats the purpose of the exemption for everyday payments. Source: X/Bitcoin Policy.
The 3 pillars of the proposal
To make the system viable, the organizations propose a simple roadmap: That mainnet tokens be treated as currency in small transactions, eliminating the need to report capital gains or losses.
This exemption would apply to assets with a market capitalization greater than $25 billion, which would shield bitcoin from the volatility of smaller tokens. A ceiling of $600 per transaction and an annual maximum of $20,000 per taxpayer is suggested. The figures support the urgency of the request. This is because bitcoin is already a financial tool for 45 million Americans. In 2024 alone, some 7 million citizens used BTC to make payments, attracted by the speed and privacy offered by payment channels such as the Lightning Network. Currently, more than 3,500 businesses throughout the country accept direct payments in bitcoin.
Surveillance spreads around the world
This bitcoiner movement in the United States occurs at a time of increasing international control. It is because since January 1, 2026, 48 countries have begun collecting data under the Crypto Asset Information Framework (CARF) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Although this global framework does not impose new taxes, it seeks to have tax authorities share information automatically starting in 2027 to detect inconsistencies. In this scenario of total transparency, the American industry considers it vital that the rules of the game are simple enough so that honest citizens do not become trapped in a web of technical bureaucracy.
