Strive Pushes to End Bitcoin Capital Gains Tax as U.S. Crypto Hearing Looms

Strive Asset Management is taking aim at one of the biggest reasons Bitcoin still feels clunky in the U.S.: capital gains tax on ordinary payments. CEO Matt Cole says scrapping that tax could help Bitcoin work more like money and less like a speculative asset that gets dragged through a compliance swamp every time someone buys a coffee.

• Bitcoin capital gains tax is being challenged as a barrier to adoption
• Matt Cole says Strive is “actively engaging DC regularly”
• House Ways and Means Committee will review crypto tax rules on June 9
• De minimis exemption could ease reporting on small crypto transactions
• Strive now holds 19,000 BTC

Strive is pushing the issue through the Bitcoin Policy Institute, lobbying policymakers in Washington to end U.S. capital gains taxes on Bitcoin transactions. Cole’s argument is blunt and fairly hard to argue with: if Bitcoin is supposed to function as a payment network and a form of money, then taxing every spend like a stock sale is a bureaucratic mess that slows adoption and makes normal use annoying as hell.

“Actively engaging DC regularly to make this happen.”

Cole has also said removing Bitcoin capital gains tax could be “the most important step for driving adoption.” That’s a bold claim, but there’s real logic behind it. Under current U.S. tax rules, spending Bitcoin can count as a taxable event. In plain English: if the BTC you bought went up in value before you used it, you may owe capital gains tax, even if all you did was pay for lunch, send a tip, or move value between wallets. That is not exactly the kind of friction that makes everyday Bitcoin payments feel natural.

And that’s the core problem. A payment network that turns routine spending into a tax headache is effectively being treated like a bad joke wearing a suit. It’s one thing to tax profits on a trade. It’s another to make people calculate gains every time they use Bitcoin like cash.

Washington is at least acknowledging that the current setup is a mess. A House Ways and Means Committee hearing is scheduled for June 9 to examine crypto tax treatment, with stablecoins, staking rewards, mining income, and transaction reporting all under the microscope. Lawmakers have already released seven discussion drafts ahead of the hearing, which suggests some actual movement — or at least the illusion of movement, which is often the most Congress can manage before lunch.

One proposal on the table is a de minimis exemption. That’s tax jargon for a small-transaction threshold: if a crypto payment is below a certain amount, it could avoid the full reporting burden. In practical terms, this would make tiny purchases less of a paperwork nightmare. That matters because if crypto is ever going to be used as money instead of just being flipped on an exchange, people need to be able to spend small amounts without pulling out a calculator and a bottle of aspirin.

The Digital Asset PARITY Act previously floated a $200 reporting threshold for stablecoin transactions, but that proposal did not extend tax-free treatment to Bitcoin payments. So yes, the policy conversation is happening, but Bitcoin still gets treated like the awkward relative nobody wants to put in the will. Stablecoins may get cleaner treatment first because they’re pegged to dollars and easier for lawmakers to wrap their heads around. Bitcoin, meanwhile, remains the harder political sell because it is openly an alternative monetary system — and governments rarely get excited about alternatives to their own monopoly money.

Strive’s push carries extra weight because the firm is not just talking its book — it’s buying Bitcoin aggressively, too. The company recently raised its Bitcoin treasury to 19,000 BTC. Between May 23 and June 1, Strive purchased 2,500 BTC for about $185.2 million, at an average price of roughly $74,092 per Bitcoin including fees and expenses.

That gives its policy campaign credibility, but it also gives away the obvious incentive. A company sitting on a mountain of BTC has every reason to support friendlier Bitcoin tax rules. Shocking, I know. Still, the argument itself stands on its own: if Bitcoin is meant to work as sound money, then taxing everyday usage like an investment event is self-defeating.

There is, of course, another side to this. Some policymakers may worry that loosening transaction tax rules could create loopholes, weaken reporting, or make it easier to hide taxable activity behind a pile of small transfers. That concern is not imaginary. Tax systems exist because governments want receipts, and they tend to get twitchy when the receipts look less certain. Critics could also argue that if stablecoins get simpler treatment while Bitcoin gets a different carve-out, the result could be yet another patchwork of rules that leaves users guessing and compliance teams overpaid.

Even so, the status quo is pretty dumb if the goal is broader Bitcoin adoption. Requiring people to track capital gains every time they spend BTC discourages usage and pushes the asset further into “hold it and hope” territory instead of letting it function as money. That may be fine for traders and some treasury strategies, but it’s not how a real payment network scales.

Strive says it will keep pushing the reform “even if the path to implementation proves lengthy.” That sounds about right. Bitcoin tax reform in the U.S. could be a major unlock for adoption, but Washington usually doesn’t hand out common sense without a fight. If policymakers want Bitcoin to act like money, not a taxable booby trap, the tax code eventually has to stop punishing people for using it.

• Why does Strive want Bitcoin capital gains taxes removed?
  Because taxing Bitcoin payments makes everyday use cumbersome and discourages adoption as money.
• Who is lobbying for this change?
  Strive Asset Management, led by CEO Matt Cole, working through the Bitcoin Policy Institute.
• What is Congress reviewing right now?
  Crypto tax rules covering stablecoins, staking rewards, mining income, and transaction reporting.
• What is a de minimis exemption?
  A small-transaction threshold that could reduce or remove reporting burdens for tiny crypto payments.
• How much Bitcoin does Strive hold?
  The firm now holds 19,000 BTC after its latest purchase.
• Is this likely to happen quickly?
  Probably not. Even Strive says the path to implementation could be lengthy.