Pro Crypto Senators Warn Tax Rule Could Hurt U.S. Crypto Leadership

Senator Cynthia Lummis is calling on the U.S. Treasury to take action on crypto tax rules that she says are putting American companies at a disadvantage. Alongside Senator Bernie Moreno, she is pushing for changes to how digital assets are treated under the current corporate tax structure.

Good to know

• Lummis says U.S. crypto firms are taxed more heavily than foreign competitors.
• She is targeting the Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (CAMT) introduced in the Inflation Reduction Act.
• The Senators argue that taxing unrealized crypto gains is unfair and could hurt American innovation.

Senator Lummis took to X to share concerns about the current tax burden on U.S. digital asset companies. She believes these rules are harming the country’s leadership in the crypto space by creating an uneven playing field.

“Our edge in digital finance is at risk if U.S. companies are taxed more than foreign competitors,” she wrote. “Representative Bernie Moreno and I urged the US Treasury to lift an unintended tax burden on U.S. digital asset companies. To lead the world in digital assets, we need a level playing field.”

CAMT and the Issue of Unrealized Crypto Gains

The Senators are targeting the Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (CAMT), which was created under the Inflation Reduction Act. The law introduced a 15% minimum tax for certain corporations, and under its current framework, unrealized gains in crypto holdings can be taxed—even if the company has not sold the assets.

Lummis and Moreno explained this issue in a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, stating that companies now face tax liabilities based on fluctuations in market value, rather than actual realized gains.

“Corporations that own enough appreciated digital assets to be subject to CAMT must now pay taxes on unrealized gains in the value of those digital assets,” they wrote. “Neither Congress nor the Financial Account Standards Board (FASB) planned this outcome—it is the unintended result of a tax liability on decisions by a private organization that is focused on financial statement accounting standards, not principles of taxation.”

Push for Immediate Relief Through Regulatory Action

Rather than waiting on a legislative fix, the Senators urged the Treasury to act directly. They believe the Treasury has the authority to either adjust the tax formula or provide relief by excluding unrealized gains from CAMT calculations.

Lummis warned that, if left unchanged, the rule could discourage companies from holding crypto altogether—weakening the U.S. position in the global digital economy.