U.S. Senate panel to hold crypto tax policy hearing on October 1

The Senate Banking Committee will hold a public hearing on October 1 to go after one of the most confusing messes in U.S. finance right now:- how crypto gets taxed.

The committee confirmed the date in a notice first reported by Eleanor Terrett, and witnesses lined up include Jason Somensatto, Policy Director at Coin Center; Andrea S. Kramer, founding member of ASKramer Law; Lawrence Zlatkin, Vice President of Taxation at Coinbase; and Annette Nellen, Chair of the Digital Asset Taxation Working Group under the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

This hearing is meant to address a problem that’s pissed off crypto users for years, which is why every small crypto transaction, even a few dollars, triggers a tax headache. The Senate is being pushed to finally look at de minimis exemptions, which would let people use crypto for daily stuff (like grabbing a coffee) without reporting every damn thing to the IRS.

Trump administration backs small crypto tax relief

Cryptopolitan reported back in July that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had said that the Trump administration still wants to push through the de minimis exemption in upcoming laws.

“The president did signal his support for de minimis exemption for crypto and the administration continues to be in support of that,” Karoline said. She explained that right now, using crypto for basic purchases is too complicated because of tax rules, but a change could make everyday payments smoother.

“We are definitely receptive to it to make crypto payments easier and more efficient for those who seek to use crypto as simple as buying a cup of coffee — of course, right now, that cannot happen, but with the de minimis exemption perhaps it could in the future.”

Karoline also revealed that President Trump plans to host a signing ceremony for the GENIUS Act, a stablecoin-focused bill expected to pass soon. That bill is part of his administration’s broader goal to make the U.S. “the crypto capital of the world.”

The Senate has already tried and failed to deal with this issue before. In 2020, two Democratic lawmakers proposed the Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act, which aimed to ignore tax on crypto gains below $200. It didn’t even make it to a vote. A similar version in 2022 also died on the floor.

Then came a broader bill in 2025 called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which covered everything from taxes to border control. Senator Cynthia Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming, tried to get a crypto exemption added in for gains under $300, but that proposal got scrapped before the final bill passed.

President Trump signed it into law on July 4 without the crypto language attached.

Right now, the IRS says every single crypto transaction must be reported, even if there’s no gain or the amount is tiny. If you spend $5 of bitcoin, that’s a taxable event. The idea behind the de minimis exemption is to cut through that nonsense and give users room to breathe. But it hasn’t been easy.

Lawmakers face real obstacles. First, the federal government depends on tax income. If it suddenly lets millions of small crypto transactions go untaxed, that means less money coming in. And there’s no sign yet of how they’ll offset that shortfall.

Even with strong voices like Cynthia and Jason in the room, the Senate still hasn’t landed on a solution. October 1 might give them a chance to do something useful. Or it might be another meeting where everyone talks and nothing happens.