Crypto regulation debate intensifies as firms press Trump for swift action

A major industry coalition has urged the White House to move quickly on clearer crypto regulation in the United States, targeting tax policy, enforcement, and innovation.

What are crypto firms asking the Trump administration to do?

A coalition of over 65 crypto firms, led by the Solana Policy Institute, has sent a detailed letter to U.S. President Donald Trump, calling for immediate executive action on digital asset rules. The letter pushes for rapid changes to tax treatment, enforcement priorities, and guidance from key federal agencies.

According to the group, agencies including the Treasury Department, the Internal Revenue Service, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Justice Department can take immediate steps without waiting for a new crypto regulation bill from Congress. Moreover, they argue these changes are needed to ensure the United States remains the best place in the world to build, invest, and innovate.

The coalition’s proposals draw heavily from recommendations in the President’s Working Group Report on Digital Assets, published earlier this year. The Solana Policy Institute worked alongside major industry players such as Coinbase, Uniswap Labs, and Exodus, among others, to shape the agenda, which they frame as pragmatic crypto regulation news for policymakers.

How do firms want digital asset taxation clarified?

On digital asset taxation, the coalition’s first priority is a clear standard for how staking and mining rewards are treated. They urge Trump to direct the Treasury to classify these rewards as self-created property, taxable only upon sale or conversion, rather than at the time of receipt. This approach, they say, would align tax rules with how other self-generated assets are handled.

Moreover, the letter asks for a de minimis tax rules framework, including a $600 exemption for small crypto transactions used in everyday payments. The group also wants Treasury and the IRS to confirm that technical operations such as bridging and wrapping tokens are not taxable events, arguing they merely change the form of an asset rather than its economic substance.

Crypto-friendly Senator Cynthia Lummis has already introduced a digital asset tax bill earlier this year that proposes similar measures. Her proposal includes ending double taxation of miners and lowering reporting thresholds. That said, the coalition suggests these legislative efforts could be complemented by immediate administrative actions to improve virtual digital asset taxation in the short term.

Why are developer protection policies a central demand?

The second major priority is stronger developer protection policies, as concerns grow about how criminal law is being applied to open-source software builders. The letter cites recent verdicts involving the creators of Samourai Wallet, who received prison sentences for building privacy-focused tools that prosecutors associated with illicit activity.

A parallel, high-profile case involves Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm, convicted of operating an unlicensed money transmission business. Supporters argue his role was limited to publishing open-source code, and that applying money transmitter laws to such work threatens core internet freedoms. Consequently, the coalition frames the Tornado Cash prosecution as a test case for innovation policy.

The group urges the Justice Department to drop the charges against Storm and formally recognize that Storm’s work on Tornado Cash represents the publication of open-source software not a financial crime. Doing so, they argue, would reinforce that code is speech under the First Amendment and signal that U.S. law will protect software innovation, even in contentious areas like privacy tools.

What role should the SEC and CFTC play on DeFi exemptive relief?

The coalition also focuses on how SEC crypto regulation is applied to decentralized finance. They ask the president to encourage the SEC’s Crypto Task Force to work with the Divisions of Corporation Finance, Investment Management, and Trading and Markets to issue interim guidance, no-action letters, and exemptive relief while formal rulemaking is underway.

Specifically, they want clear assurances that developers of source-available, permissionless protocols and front-ends will not be targeted for enforcement actions during this transitional phase. Moreover, the letter calls on both the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to publicly affirm self custody support, stating that individuals should be free to hold and manage their own digital assets.

The coalition urges these market regulators to utilize their existing authority to provide exemptive relief for digital assets and DeFi technology, echoing the defi exemptive relief concepts set out in the President’s Working Group Report on Digital Assets. This interim approach, they argue, could stabilize today’s crypto exchange regulation environment while longer-term rules are drafted.

How do firms want interagency crypto coordination improved?

Beyond tax and enforcement priorities, the letter stresses the need for stronger interagency crypto coordination across Washington. The coalition wants federal departments to harmonize how they define and supervise digital assets, so builders and users are not forced to navigate conflicting interpretations from different offices.

In particular, they call for clearer boundaries between crypto exchanges regulation, securities law, and commodities oversight. Moreover, they argue that coordinated standards would help prevent regulatory arbitrage while giving legitimate projects a more predictable framework. This theme mirrors ongoing FinCEN and Treasury work on digital asset risks.

Industry participants frame these requests as part of broader global crypto regulation trends, arguing that the United States risks falling behind jurisdictions actively codifying digital asset frameworks. They point to developments in Europe and Asia as evidence that regulatory clarity is increasingly a competitive advantage in attracting capital and talent.

What FinCEN noncustodial guidance are firms seeking?

The final set of demands targets fincen noncustodial guidance and financial crime rules. The coalition wants updated guidance from FinCEN to confirm that the Bank Secrecy Act does not apply to noncustodial blockchain software, in line with earlier agency positions that focused obligations on intermediaries with actual control over customer funds.

Moreover, they urge the Treasury to abandon a proposed measure that singles out crypto mixers as a primary money laundering concern. The group warns that overbroad sanctions or registration requirements for privacy tools could drive legitimate users offshore and weaken U.S. visibility into digital asset flows.

The coalition suggests that targeted enforcement against clearly illicit actors, combined with technology-neutral rules, would better align with the goals of Justice Department financial crime efforts. That said, they insist any new measures respect long-standing protections for publishing and using open-source code.

Could this letter reshape U.S. crypto regulation news today?

While the letter does not carry legal force, it reflects a coordinated push by leading industry stakeholders to influence the next phase of U.S. policy. Its focus on tax clarity, developer protections, and measured enforcement responds directly to headline crypto regulation news today, including controversial prosecutions and ambiguous guidance.

Whether the Trump administration acts on these proposals remains uncertain. However, the document underscores that regulatory clarity, rather than deregulation, is now the sector’s core demand. In summary, the coalition is betting that a more predictable framework for taxation, innovation, and compliance will keep the U.S. at the center of the global digital asset economy.