Senate Bill Proposes Crypto Tax Breaks and Major New Regulations

Two US senators have introduced legislation to change the way cryptocurrencies are regulated.
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The Securities and Exchange Commission would lose oversight of digital assets under the Responsible Financial Innovation Act.
Instead, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission would be given more authority.

The bill is being sponsored by Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis and her Democratic counterpart Kirsten Gillibrand in a significant bipartisan effort.
They hope that this bill will establish clear industry standards, provide well-defined roles for regulators, foster innovation, and protect consumers. Lummis made the announcement in a statement.

“ The United States is the global financial leader, and to ensure the next generation of Americans enjoys greater opportunity, it is critical to integrate digital assets into existing law and to harness the efficiency and transparency of this asset class while addressing risk.”

If passed, the bill would be a major step toward legitimizing the role of cryptocurrencies in the American financial system.

Other proposed measures would require the incorporation of decentralized autonomous organizations, and consumers who use cryptocurrencies to make purchases would be eligible for a tax exemption of up to $200. Meanwhile, miners who create new coins would only be taxed when their assets are sold.
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Several government agencies would also be tasked with conducting additional investigations into issues such as Proof-of-Work blockchain energy consumption and the tax implications of hard forks and airdrops.

​David Gerard, Molly White, Stephen Diehl and Jamie Zawinski. They describe cryptocurrencies as "risky, flawed and unproven," warning:

“The catastrophes and externalities related to blockchain technologies and cryptoasset investments are neither isolated nor are they growing pains of a nascent technology. They are the inevitable outcomes of a technology that is not built for purpose and will remain forever unsuitable as a foundation for large-scale economic activity."