As Congress struggles to keep the lights on, crypto industry organizations are urging the Trump administration to take unilateral action to clarify and expedite a host of digital asset regulations. In a letter addressed directly to Trump last week, a group of 65 organizations representing crypto, DeFi and blockchain companies proposed a long list of “steps that can be taken by the administration that achieve quick wins to complement legislative efforts.”
THE letter was led by the Solana Policy Institute and co-signed by major industry players including the Blockchain Association, the Crypto Council for Innovation, and the Digital Securities Initiative.
The recommended steps covered four main areas of concern. On tax policy, the groups are urging the White House to direct the Treasury Department to “revise or clarify tax guidance related to digital asset mining and staking rewards,” clarify rules for collateralizations, liquidations, and forced sales, and clarify the treatment of airdrops, forks, and rebasing events “to avoid phantom revenue and align taxation with economic reality.”
Regarding regulatory clarity, the letter asks the President to urge the SEC and CFTC to “adopt self-custody as a matter of Administration policy…and to issue guidance as necessary to protect the right of all Americans to self-custody,” and to ensure that the SEC “expedites timely review and implementation of the Spring 2025 Unified Regulatory and Deregulatory Action Agenda.”
When it comes to promoting DeFi innovation, the groups want the SEC and CFTC to “use their existing authority to grant an exemption for digital assets and DeFi technology,” they want FinCEN to issue “updated guidance clarifying that the Bank Secrecy Act does not apply to non-custodial blockchain software,” and they want the Treasury to “discontinue and expressly disavow FinCEN’s proposal” to classify convertible virtual currency mixing as a class of transactions of concern in under anti-money laundering rules.
Regarding the protection of digital assets and software innovation, the groups demand that the Justice Department model Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to shield DeFi technology developers from civil liability and drop all pending charges against Roman Storm related to North Korean hackers’ use of open source software Tornado Cash to transfer $1 billion in “dirty money.”
The letter reflects the growing impatience with Congress within the DeFi and digital assets industries. While Congress passed and Trump signed the GENIUS Act establishing rules for issuing and trading stablecoins, work on broader market structure rules for digital assets has stalled.
The House passed the Clarity Act in May, which aims to clarify the jurisdictional boundaries of the SEC and CFTC with respect to digital assets and authorizes the agencies to issue appropriate regulations. But legislation on market structure remains blocked in the Senate.
“Our industry is working closely with your administration, the United States House of Representatives, and the United States Senate to get a market structure bill to your desk as quickly as possible,” the letter said.
Cryptocurrencies have also seen sharp declines in recent weeks, heightening industry concerns. Bitcoin has fallen nearly 30% from its October peak, losing nearly $800 billion in value. Overall, crypto coins fell by $1 trillion in a month.
Clarifying the regulatory treatment of non-stable cryptocurrencies and digital assets could help stabilize the market.
