Coinbase is quietly lobbying to kill Bitcoin's de minimis tax exemption.
The company reportedly told legislators that "no one is using Bitcoin as money" and that a Bitcoin de minimis exemption would be "DOA." Meanwhile, they're pushing for the exemption to apply only to stablecoins, specifically regulated, dollar-pegged stablecoins like USDC.
Coinbase made $1.35 billion in stablecoin revenue in 2025, up 48% year over year, almost entirely from interest earned on U.S. Treasuries held in USDC reserves. Bloomberg estimates that number could surge 7x under the GENIUS Act. Every person who uses USDC for payments instead of Bitcoin is a person whose dollars are sitting in Coinbase's reserve pool generating risk-free yield for Coinbase.
A de minimis exemption for Bitcoin would let people spend it freely for everyday purchases without triggering a taxable event. That makes Bitcoin a direct competitor to USDC as a payment method. Coinbase doesn't want that competition. They want you locked into their centralized stablecoin ecosystem where they clip yield on every dollar you park there.
The irony is that a de minimis exemption doesn't even make sense for stablecoins. They're pegged to the dollar. They don't fluctuate in value. There's no capital gain to exempt. The exemption matters for Bitcoin precisely because it does fluctuate, and without it, every coffee purchase becomes a taxable event.
Senator Lummis proposed a $300 de minimis exemption that would cover Bitcoin. The House framework only covers stablecoins under $200. The Bitcoin Policy Institute has already warned that Bitcoin is being deliberately excluded from these talks.
A de minimis exemption that covers stablecoins but not Bitcoin isn't a tax framework. It's a subsidy for Coinbase's treasury management business disguised as consumer protection.
The company reportedly told legislators that "no one is using Bitcoin as money" and that a Bitcoin de minimis exemption would be "DOA." Meanwhile, they're pushing for the exemption to apply only to stablecoins, specifically regulated, dollar-pegged stablecoins like USDC.
Coinbase made $1.35 billion in stablecoin revenue in 2025, up 48% year over year, almost entirely from interest earned on U.S. Treasuries held in USDC reserves. Bloomberg estimates that number could surge 7x under the GENIUS Act. Every person who uses USDC for payments instead of Bitcoin is a person whose dollars are sitting in Coinbase's reserve pool generating risk-free yield for Coinbase.
A de minimis exemption for Bitcoin would let people spend it freely for everyday purchases without triggering a taxable event. That makes Bitcoin a direct competitor to USDC as a payment method. Coinbase doesn't want that competition. They want you locked into their centralized stablecoin ecosystem where they clip yield on every dollar you park there.
The irony is that a de minimis exemption doesn't even make sense for stablecoins. They're pegged to the dollar. They don't fluctuate in value. There's no capital gain to exempt. The exemption matters for Bitcoin precisely because it does fluctuate, and without it, every coffee purchase becomes a taxable event.
Senator Lummis proposed a $300 de minimis exemption that would cover Bitcoin. The House framework only covers stablecoins under $200. The Bitcoin Policy Institute has already warned that Bitcoin is being deliberately excluded from these talks.
A de minimis exemption that covers stablecoins but not Bitcoin isn't a tax framework. It's a subsidy for Coinbase's treasury management business disguised as consumer protection.
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