Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) signaled that she would be open to meet with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s office to explore potential clarity on Bitcoin taxation, including a de minimis exemption for small transactions and guidance on calculating capital gains.
Lummis was one of the lawmakers who pressed Bessent today on digital assets and clear U.S. regulation.
Bessent was speaking to the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee about the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s annual report — essentially a high‑profile Senate hearing on U.S. financial stability where he is being questioned on economic policy and oversight issues.
The hearings have been semi-heated at times, with Senator Mark Warner chiming in, saying that “I feel like I’m in crypto hell.”
Senator Lummis’ crypto-focused questioning
Lummis began her time in the session by asking whether China is leveraging digital assets and blockchain to challenge American financial leadership.
Bessent said it is unclear, noting that while there are rumors of Chinese digital assets potentially backed by gold or other mechanisms, the U.S. Treasury has not observed such instruments.
He acknowledged China’s active exploration of digital asset frameworks, particularly through Hong Kong’s financial sandbox and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
The conversation quickly turned to U.S. regulation. Lummis emphasized the need for clear rules of the road, particularly legislation governing stablecoins and market structure.
“It’s impossible to proceed without it,” Bessent said.
He expressed support for the proposed Clarity Act, which seeks to provide regulatory clarity for digital assets, urging industry participants who oppose regulation to consider relocating to countries with looser oversight.
“We have to get this Clarity Act across the finish line,” Bessent said. “Any market participants who don’t support it should move to El Salvador.”
Both officials highlighted the benefits of embedding the digital asset industry within the U.S. economy.
Bessent stressed that the goal is a balance between fostering innovation and maintaining “safe, sound, and smart practices” under U.S. government oversight. He noted ongoing efforts to engage community and small banks in the digital asset ecosystem, acknowledging concerns that new legislation could trigger deposit outflows.
“Deposit volatility is very undesirable because it is the stability of those deposits that allows them to lend into their communities,” Bessent said.
Will there be a Bitcoin tax exemption?
Lummis also raised questions about digital asset taxation, particularly the treatment of small transactions — known as de minimis — and the calculation of capital gains for users with mixed portfolios of Bitcoin purchased at different prices over time.
Bessent acknowledged the complexity of the issue and offered to have the Treasury’s Office of Tax Policy work with Lummis’ team to provide guidance. Nothing definitive was said on a bitcoin tax exemption, but the idea was floated between the two lawmakers.
Yesterday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told lawmakers that the U.S. government has no authority to bail out bitcoin or direct banks to hold crypto.
During testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, Bessent emphasized that taxpayer funds cannot be deployed into BTC and that the government’s only exposure comes from law enforcement seizures.
He noted that retained bitcoin has appreciated significantly, citing $500 million in seized BTC growing to over $15 billion, but stressed this does not involve active investment.
Bessent also confirmed that the U.S. will stop selling seized bitcoin, adding it to the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in line with Executive Order 14233.
