On Capitol Hill, Senator Cynthia Lummis wants to make Bitcoin “everyday money.”
The Wyoming Republican is quietly drafting legislation that could do what years of evangelism could never do: make buying coffee with Bitcoin practical again.
Her proposal, a de minimis tax exemption for small crypto transactions, would let Americans spend a few hundred dollars on BTC without incurring capital gains paperwork.
Lummis revealed on October 9 that the exemption is part of a broader tax framework for digital assets that it is drafting. She urged voters to pressure their representatives to support the measure.
The subtle rule change could shift Bitcoin from an investment asset to everyday money. This would mark a significant return to Satoshi Nakamoto’s original idea of Bitcoin as a peer-to-peer currency that moves freely and efficiently between users.
What is a de minimis tax exemption?
In tax law, de minimis means ‘too small to matter’. The principle dates back to the Tariff Act of 1930, which saved importers from paying duties on low-value goods.
Applied to cryptocurrencies, it would prevent users from calculating profits every time they spend small amounts of BTC, a red tape that has long made Bitcoin payments impractical in the US.
Lummis had initially tried to introduce this bill in June.
Under the bill, transactions under about $300 per purchase, up to a maximum of $5,000 per year, would be tax-free. It would exclude assets sold for cash equivalents or used for business operations, but still cover most incidental expenses.
However, this bill faced significant opposition from opponents such as Senator Elizabeth Warren, a renowned critic of the nascent industry.
Warren claims that crypto holders have failed to pay at least $50 billion a year in taxes they owe, and the proposed legislation would further this cause.
Considering this, she declared:
“I’m all for getting rules that are appropriately tailored, but I think we need to stick to the same principle that we’ve been using in Congress for decades, which is the same basic transaction, same kind of risk means we need the same kind of rules. And that should apply to crypto just like any other financial product.”
What impact will this have on Bitcoin?
A clear de minimis rule would do more than just simplify tax paperwork; it could quietly redefine how Bitcoin moves through the economy.
For regular users, this means hassle-free payments. Buying coffee, movie tickets or groceries with Bitcoin would no longer trigger capital gains calculations or expense tracking. Wallet apps could introduce an ‘everyday mode’ for small purchases, while payment processors like Strike and BitPay could bring to market a new form of tax-free micro-spending that feels as natural as tapping a debit card.
That change in behavior could spread across the markets. As more people spend and convert small amounts of BTC, trading activity would spread more evenly throughout the day, narrowing bid-ask spreads and reducing intraday volatility. The effect may not cause dramatic price changes, but it would give the market a more stable rhythm, at least in the US.
The benefits are equally clear for companies experimenting with crypto rewards or payroll.
A simple threshold would allow companies to process Bitcoin distributions or loyalty points as routine expenses rather than as complex taxable events. With that clarity, accounting platforms could automate compliance, allowing companies to integrate BTC in practical ways without taking on full treasury risks.
In Washington, the prospects would be favorable. Lawmakers get a pro-innovation headline at minimal budgetary costs while demonstrating openness to a more flexible digital economy.
This results in a policy that modernizes taxes without controversy and brings Bitcoin closer to its original purpose: money that is actually used.
Furthermore, a de minimis exemption tells the world that the US government recognizes Bitcoin as a medium of exchange and not just a volatile investment. It is encouraging payments giants like Visa and PayPal to deepen integration and putting pressure on other jurisdictions, such as Britain, to follow suit.
