U.S. Senators Push Back on Crypto Tax Proposal Targeting Unrealized Gains

Senators Cynthia Lummis and Bernie Moreno called on the Treasury to exclude unrealized crypto gains from a Biden-era tax rule.They cautioned that new tax and accounting rules, following President Trump’s recent pro-crypto actions, could tax companies on unsold crypto assets.Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) has long been a leading voice for cryptocurrency innovation on Capitol Hill. As chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Digital Assets, she’s been pushing for clear rules of the road in a fast-moving space. Now, she’s teaming up with Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno to challenge a tax policy.In a letter sent to the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Lummis and Moreno urged the administration to reconsider how the Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (CAMT) is being applied, specifically, its impact on companies holding cryptocurrencies. Their concern? The policy could end up taxing firms on profits they haven’t actually made.“It’s not fair to hit companies with a massive tax bill for gains they haven’t realized, This could force them to sell off assets just to pay the IRS.” The senators argued.The Controversial Tax: CAMT The CAMT, introduced in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, imposes a 15% minimum tax on large corporations with adjusted financial income averaging over $1 billion over three years. It officially kicked in with the 2023 tax year.What’s causing the controversy now is how crypto holdings are being valued. In December 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued a new rule requiring companies to use fair-value, or “mark-to-market” accounting for digital assets. That means even if a company hasn’t sold its crypto, it has to report gains or losses based on the market price. And under CAMT, those paper gains could be taxed.“This wasn’t what Congress had in mind.”Lummis and Moreno wrote, “It’s the unintended result of relying on a private accounting board’s decisions rather than longstanding principles of taxation.”The senators are urging the Treasury to use its regulatory authority to adjust the definition of taxable income under CAMT, specifically to exclude unrealized crypto gains. They cited sections of the tax code that give the Treasury flexibility to make such adjustments when necessary. They also raised constitutional concerns, noting that taxing income that hasn’t been realized could run afoul of the Sixteenth Amendment.Beyond legal questions, the two senators pointed to practical consequences: U.S.-based firms could be forced to sell digital assets just to meet tax obligations. At the same time, international competitors, who don’t follow the same accounting standards, face no such burden. “This creates a serious competitive disadvantage,” they warned, “If we don’t fix it, we risk driving crypto innovation offshore.”This push comes amid a shift in Trump’s approach to digital assets. During President Biden’s term, the IRS finalized a rule in late 2024 that would have classified decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms as brokers, requiring them to report user transactions like traditional financial institutions do.But that rule didn’t last. In March 2025, the Senate voted 70–27 to repeal it under the Congressional Review Act, with the House following up 292–132. As Crypto News Flash reported, President Donald Trump signed the repeal into law on April 10, marking another step in his administration’s effort to roll back Biden-era crypto regulations.