How will Trump reform the cryptocurrency tax system?

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2 days ago

Author | FinTax

News Overview

News 1: On April 10, 2025, U.S. President Trump signed a joint resolution from Congress that overturned a regulation from the Biden administration requiring decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols to report relevant information to the U.S. tax authority—the IRS. Under the original regulation, DeFi platforms, such as decentralized exchanges, were required to submit the total revenue from their cryptocurrency sales and provide detailed information about the participating traders.

Source: https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/04/07/president-trump-signs-resolution-erasing-irs-crypto-rule-targeting-defi

News 2: Eric Trump recently (January 2025) mentioned that U.S. crypto projects like XRP and HBAR will soon not be subject to capital gains tax. This means that investors in these projects can spend less when cashing out their cryptocurrencies for profit. However, crypto projects based outside the U.S. will face a high capital gains tax of 30%. This move could help bring more crypto innovation to the U.S. and provide a significant comparative advantage for domestic projects.

Source: https://www.ifcreview.com/news/2025/january/us-eric-trump-announces-zero-tax-for-us-crypto-investors/

FinTax Perspective

Before 2022, Trump was a critic of cryptocurrencies. In 2019, he referred to Bitcoin as a "scam" and expressed skepticism about crypto assets by calling cryptocurrencies "money created out of thin air." However, in December 2022, Trump's stance on cryptocurrencies underwent a complete transformation when he launched an NFT themed around himself, capitalizing on the bull market and NFT craze, earning millions of dollars in profit. Since then, Trump has shifted from being a public critic of cryptocurrencies to an active participant. By 2024, he became the first U.S. presidential candidate to accept cryptocurrency donations and listed a series of commitments to promote the growth of the cryptocurrency industry, playing the "crypto card" in his campaign. A few days ago, Trump signed the first cryptocurrency bill in the U.S. to become law, officially abolishing the IRS's DeFi broker tax reporting rule, which the crypto industry widely believed would deal a heavy blow to the DeFi ecosystem and the entire crypto industry when it was first announced. In fact, during his campaign for the current presidency, Trump promised to implement sweeping reforms to the cryptocurrency-related system, and since the beginning of his current term, whether through personnel changes in regulatory agencies, the gradual introduction of related regulations, or the authorization to issue $Trump, it is evident that Trump is fulfilling his campaign promises, showing a positive embrace and willingness to promote cryptocurrencies.

Currently, U.S. cryptocurrency investors are facing significant tax pressure. In the U.S., short-term holdings (less than one year) of cryptocurrencies are subject to capital gains tax rates as high as 37%, while mining income, staking rewards, and airdrop income are all taxed as ordinary income by the IRS. Additionally, the U.S. cryptocurrency tax system is relatively complex, requiring individuals and businesses to spend more time and resources on tax reporting, resulting in high compliance costs. Since the beginning of 2025, rumors have circulated that Trump would lower cryptocurrency tax rates. As mentioned in the news, Trump's son Eric Trump has publicly claimed that zero capital gains tax will be implemented for "domestic projects" like XRP and HBAR, while non-domestic projects will face a 30% capital gains tax. However, for months, despite public sentiment and industry expectations, these rumors have not materialized, especially during the White House cryptocurrency summit on March 7, where Trump did not announce large-scale reforms to the cryptocurrency tax system as anticipated. Even in terms of cryptocurrency regulatory measures, Trump's actions have been seen as insufficient, indicating more of a shift in regulatory attitude. Even though the repeal of the DeFi broker tax reporting rule is significant for the continued development of the crypto industry, it is essentially a passive measure primarily involving tax procedures and is not an actively implemented tax relief policy.

Trump's "silence" reflects multiple real-world factors. First, although the proposed crypto tax reforms have sparked short-term market excitement, their implementation faces fundamental legal obstacles. The first clause of the eighth amendment of the U.S. Constitution clearly states that "the power to tax shall be vested in Congress," meaning the president has no authority to unilaterally adjust tax rates. Adam Cochran, a partner at Cinneamhain Ventures, pointedly remarked, "…this (referring to Trump announcing adjustments to cryptocurrency tax rates) is no more effective than me claiming to be a paper cupcake." Second, the political struggle between the Democratic and Republican parties extends from the federal level to state and local levels, and any reforms by Trump would need to overcome significant interference and obstacles from the Democrats, especially on major issues like taxation, where related tax relief bills may face a long tug-of-war. Third, at this stage, the Trump administration is primarily focused on overturning the Biden administration's series of oppressive policies against the crypto industry, particularly expressing support for Congress to pass legislation providing regulatory certainty for the cryptocurrency industry. This indicates that the Trump administration prefers to show support for the crypto industry through overall policies (such as regulatory easing) rather than touching on legal taboos (such as tax exemption legislation). This strategy allows for avoiding direct conflict with Congress while reinforcing a crypto-friendly image through an "anti-establishment" narrative. In summary, as a politician, Trump needs to fulfill campaign promises to maintain credibility and solidify his voter base while ensuring the legality and reasonableness of his actions to avoid unnecessary trouble. How to navigate this balance is a test of Trump's political wisdom.

Trump has announced plans to build the U.S. into the world's cryptocurrency capital. Despite his numerous attempts and efforts in related policies, the global financial market turmoil caused by U.S. tariffs has nearly erased all gains in cryptocurrencies since Trump's victory at the end of last year. According to CoinGecko, before Trump announced the suspension of the tariff measures, the total market value of cryptocurrencies had dropped by about 12% to $2.47 trillion, almost returning to the level before Trump's victory. U.S. cryptocurrency investors are eagerly awaiting a new world with zero capital gains tax, but what lies ahead is a chaotic impact from tariff policies, raising the question: What is the future of Trump's cryptocurrency tax reform?

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