Crypto firms call for ‘immediate’ regulatory clarity in letter to President Donald Trump

A coalition of over 65 crypto firms, led by the Solana Policy Institute, has addressed a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump, calling for immediate executive action to clarify digital asset regulations and push forward crypto-friendly tax and enforcement policies through federal agencies.

Summary

• Over 65 crypto firms have urged President Trump to direct federal agencies to clarify crypto regulations.
• The letter calls on the Justice Department to drop charges against Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm.
• Industry leaders want the SEC and CFTC to support self-custody and exempt DeFi projects from enforcement while formal rulemaking is still underway.

In the Nov. 20 letter, the coalition urged the administration to act swiftly on a series of targeted measures designed to ensure that “the United States remains the best place in the world to build, invest, and innovate.”

The letter takes inspiration from recommendations outlined in the President’s Working Group Report on Digital Assets, which was released earlier this year, said the Solana Policy Institute, alongside crypto firms such as Coinbase, Uniswap Labs, and Exodus, among others.

According to them, federal agencies like the Treasury Department, the Internal Revenue Service, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Justice Department can take “immediate steps” without waiting for new legislation from Congress.

Clarify crypto taxation

First, the group has asked Trump to clarify how staking and mining rewards are taxed by directing the Treasury to treat them as self-created property that is taxed only upon sale or conversion.

Among other asks, they also called for implementing a “de minimis tax rules” such as a $600 exemption for small crypto transactions, and establishing proper definitions that clarify that activities like bridging and wrapping tokens are not taxable events.

Crypto-friendly Senator Cynthia Lummis has already introduced a digital asset tax bill earlier this year that proposes similar measures, including ending the double taxation of miners and setting a lower reporting threshold, which could complement the administrative actions now being sought.

Establish developer protections

Next on the list is a call for greater protection of developers, especially as concerns have mounted around recent verdicts involving the creators of Samourai Wallet, who were sentenced to prison for building privacy-focused crypto tools that prosecutors linked to illicit use.

A similar high-profile case involves Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm, who was convicted of operating an unlicensed money transmission business, even though his involvement was limited to publishing open-source code.

The group urged the Justice Department to drop the case against Storm and recognize that “Storm’s work on Tornado Cash represents the publication of open-source software – not a financial crime.”

“Doing so will further support that code is speech under the First Amendment and signals that the U.S. will protect innovation,” the group said.

As such, they have asked the president to “encourage the SEC’s Crypto Task Force to coordinate with the Divisions of Corporation Finance, Investment Management, and Trading and Markets to issue interim guidance, no action, and exemptive relief clarifying that developers of source-available, permissionless protocols and front-ends are not subject to enforcement while related rulemaking proceeds.”

Other agendas

Beyond the aforementioned priorities, the coalition has called for stronger interagency coordination to streamline how crypto is regulated across federal departments and to create consistent expectations for both builders and users.

They want the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to publicly affirm support for self-custody, and have urged the agencies to “utilize their existing authority to provide exemptive relief for digital assets and DeFi technology” in line with recommendations from the President’s Working Group Report on Digital Assets.

Finally, the letter calls for updated guidance from FinCEN that would make clear the Bank Secrecy Act does not apply to noncustodial blockchain software, consistent with earlier agency positions. 

It also urges the Treasury to abandon a proposed measure targeting crypto mixers as a primary money laundering concern.