Today in crypto: US lawmakers are proposing a tax exemption for stablecoin payments of up to $200, crypto market participants aren’t fearful enough yet to call a market bottom. Meanwhile, Bitcoin maximalist and analyst warns investors not to sell BTC for gold.
US lawmakers propose tax break for small stablecoin payments, staking rewards
US lawmakers have introduced a discussion draft that would ease the tax burden on everyday crypto users by exempting small stablecoin transactions from capital gains taxes and offering a new deferral option for staking and mining rewards.
The proposal, introduced by Representatives Max Miller of Ohio and Steven Horsford of Nevada, seeks to amend the Internal Revenue Code to reflect the growing use of digital assets in payments. The draft is set “to eliminate low-value gain recognition arising from routine consumer payment use of regulated payment stablecoins,” per the draft.
Under the draft, users would not be required to recognize gains or losses on stablecoin transactions of up to $200, provided the asset is issued by a permitted issuer under the GENIUS Act, pegged to the US dollar and maintains a tight trading range around $1.
The bill includes safeguards to prevent abuse. The exemption would not apply if a stablecoin trades outside a narrow price band, and brokers or dealers would be excluded from the benefit. Treasury would also retain authority to issue anti-abuse rules and reporting requirements.
Crypto market ‘isn’t scared enough’ to call a bottom yet: Santiment
Crypto traders have not yet shown enough fear on social media to confirm a market bottom, according to a crypto analyst who suggested Bitcoin could still slide to around $75,000.
“It looks very tempting to come even closer to it,” crypto market sentiment platform Santiment founder, Maksim Balashevich, said on a video published to YouTube on Friday.
A move to that level would represent an approximate 14.77% drop from Bitcoin’s current price of $88,350, according to CoinMarketCap.
Balashevich explained that his hesitation comes from observing significant optimism online that the downtrend will reverse in the near term, which he said is not usually the case when a true market bottom is forming.
Bitcoin maximalist and analyst warns investors not to sell BTC for gold
Bitocin (BTC) is a better long-term store of value than gold, according to Bitcoin maximalist, educator and market analyst Matthew Kratter, who warned Bitcoin investors not to sell their BTC to get in on gold, which is trading at all-time highs above $4,300 per ounce.
BTC has superior monetary properties, including a maximum supply of 21 million coins, greater portability, divisibility down to nine decimal places, and is easier to verify, Kratter argued. He said:
“Gold supplies have increased somewhere between 1-2% annually for decades, if not for centuries. Now, this may not seem like a lot, but it leads inevitably to gold supplies doubling every 47 years.”
The comments came as BTC continues to trade below $90,000 and risks erasing all gains made in 2025, while gold records gains of over 67% over the last year.