Crypto Firms Push Trump to Direct Agencies on Stalled Regulatory Guidance

In brief

More than 65 crypto organizations have called on Trump to order regulators clarify digital asset rules.
The letter requests tax guidance on staking rewards, safe harbors for DeFi developers, and dismissal of charges against Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm.
The push comes as CFTC nominee Mike Selig advances toward confirmation and Treasury’s international crypto tax reporting rules reach White House review.

More than 65 crypto organizations are calling on President Donald Trump to bypass Congress and order federal agencies to immediately clarify digital asset regulations, amid rising impatience with the pace of legislative reform.

In a letter sent to the White House, led by Solana Policy Institute and cosigned by major industry players, including Uniswap Labs, the Blockchain Association, and the Solana Foundation, outlined specific actions the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Treasury Department, and the Justice Department can take without new legislation.

The coordinated push aims to turn Trump’s pro-crypto stance into concrete agency action, using executive power to drive one of the most sweeping crypto policy shifts yet.

The letter acknowledges Trump administration wins, including the nullification of the IRS Broker Rule and passage of the GENIUS Act, a regulatory framework for stablecoins.

Despite these moves, the letter says more can be accomplished through executive action to make America “the crypto capital of the world.”

On tax policy, the letter urges the Treasury to issue guidance treating staking and mining rewards as “self-created property taxed upon disposition” rather than immediately taxable income.

It also requests clarification that bridging, wrapping, and cross-chain transactions are non-taxable events and seeks de minimis tax rules that exclude gains on purchases up to $600.

For regulatory clarity, signatories want the SEC’s Crypto Task Force to provide interim guidance clarifying that developers of “source-available, permissionless protocols” are protected from enforcement during rulemaking.

On DeFi protection, the industry requests updated FinCEN guidance confirming the Bank Secrecy Act doesn’t apply to non-custodial blockchain software, consistent with the agency’s 2019 stance on virtual currencies.

Notably, the letter urges the Justice Department to dismiss charges against the developer of the coin mixer Tornado Cash, Roman Storm, who was found guilty of a conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitter in August, “recognizing that Storm’s work on Tornado Cash represents the publication of open-source software—not a financial crime.”

The call comes as the crypto community faces similar concerns over Samourai Wallet developers, who were recently sentenced to prison time for their work on privacy-focused software.

Daniel Liu, CEO of Republic Technologies, told Decrypt he supports the call for clarity but cautioned that “it is far more important that regulators proceed methodically and get it right than move too quickly and risk creating additional confusion.”

“As long as the actions taken by any agency are clearly defined, I would not expect individual states to challenge or fragment the framework,” he added.

The letter arrives as Trump’s CFTC nominee, Mike Selig, advances toward Senate confirmation following Wednesday’s hearing, during which he declined to commit to expanding agency resources despite anticipated crypto oversight responsibilities.

The push for administrative action gained momentum Monday when proposed Treasury rules regarding international crypto tax reporting reached the White House for review.

The rules would allow the IRS to gain information about Americans’ foreign crypto accounts by joining the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, a global agreement under which nations automatically share information about citizens’ crypto holdings to combat tax evasion.

User sentiment on Myriad Markets indicates weak approval for Trump’s performance as the 45th president, with only 44% of traders wagering he is doing a good job.

Myriad is owned by Decrypt’s parent company, Dastan.