Senator Lummis Pushes Making Small Crypto Transactions Tax-Free in ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ - Unchained

Senator Cynthia Lummis is leading a push to make small crypto transactions tax-free in the Senate’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB), with a proposed amendment that would introduce a de minimis capital gains exemption for minor crypto payments.

The amendment would set a threshold – currently proposed at $300 per transaction – below which crypto payments would not trigger capital gains tax reporting. It also calls for a proposed annual cap of $5,000 in total small transactions that would qualify for the exemption.

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The amendment also seeks to clarify and reform the taxation of staking and mining rewards, so that these are taxed only when sold, not when received, addressing what Lummis and advocates call “double taxation” and aligning tax policy with actual economic benefit.

Crypto industry advocates, including Bitcoin Policy Institute’s executive director Matthew Pine, are mobilizing support for the amendment, arguing that it will encourage adoption and innovation by removing unnecessary barriers to using digital assets in everyday commerce.