Bitcoin policy debate heats up after lobbying claims against Coinbase

Coinbase has denied lobbying against a de minimis tax exemption for bitcoin (BTC), despite a vehement claim by podcaster and Ten31 managing partner Marty Bent that it has.

Bent reported on March 11 that the exchange was quietly telling lawmakers that a de minimis tax exemption for BTC payments was unnecessary.

According to Bent and his “multiple” Capitol Hill sources, Coinbase lobbyists allegedly told legislators “no one is using BTC as money” and that such a tax change would be “dead on arrival.” 

He also claimed that the company only wanted the exemption to apply to specifically regulated, dollar-pegged tokens like the Coinbase-supported USDC.

Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad denied the allegation flatly. “This is a total lie, Marty Bent. We have never and will never lobby against Bitcoin. Ever.” 

Kara Calvert, Coinbase’s VP of US policy, called the claim “categorically false.” She said Coinbase has advocated for a de minimis exemption covering “all digital assets,” including BTC, since 2017.

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal also called the allegation a lie while Nic Carter dismissed Bent’s allegation out of hand. 

Jack Dorsey quote-tweeted Shirzad’s claim that Coinbase had “never and will never lobby against Bitcoin” and asked for a confirmation from Coinbase’s CEO Brian Armstrong. “Hope this is true for de minimis as well. @brian_armstrong?”

Armstrong confirmed.

Disagreeing, Conner Brown, head of strategy at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, partially reiterated Bent’s concern.

Without naming Coinbase directly, “I can confirm that over the past three months, there’s been a strong shift on the Hill to limiting the de minimis exemption to stablecoins only,” Brown wrote.

Pierre Rochard also thinks Coinbase isn’t telling the whole truth. “Bitcoin should be tax exempt. It’s really sad to see Brian Armstrong lobbying against that,” he wrote.

Even when Grewal called him out for defamation, Rochard stuck to his story, “Wait until you see the bill.”

Read more: Crypto leaked by South Korean tax officials stolen a second time

A wrinkle in Coinbase’s tax denial

Coinbase has certainly been clear that its stance is that it’s never advocated against a bitcoin de minimis tax exemption. However, Coinbase’s stablecoin business, and a confusing post by Calvert, slightly complicates its denial. 

Recall that Coinbase earned $1.3 billion in stablecoin revenue in 2025, mostly from interest on the US Treasuries backing USDC. A de minimis exemption covering BTC only would allow people spend one non-USDC digital asset tax-free for everyday purchases, thereby making BTC a somewhat direct competitor to USDC.

Nonetheless, Coinbase’s Calvert says that Coinbase has been advocating for a crypto-wide, all-asset exemption for years.

She also claimed that “Stablecoins don’t realize gains or losses” because “they are stable,” which is certainly not always true, but is her bizarre claim nonetheless.

If stablecoins were indeed “stable” and guaranteed to hold their $1 peg, (ignoring the fact that USDC has traded in the $0.80s many times), it would be absurd for Coinbase to advocate for a stablecoin-only tax exemption for USDC stablecoins which, in Calvert’s view, “don’t realize gains or losses” anyway.

In truth, USDC has traded in a wide range from at least $0.87 to $1.09 on Kraken, including hundreds of millions of dollars in settled transactions below $0.98.

Even lower and higher USDC prices have settled on other trading venues.

Coinbase wants to win on Capitol Hill

Bent’s original post accuses one of the world’s largest and longest-running BTC exchanges of trying to “nuke” any hopes for a BTC minimis tax exemption.

He described, citing three unnamed “sources,” Coinbase pushing for an exemption on stablecoins only.

Even though Coinbase has clearly denied the allegation, the exemption under discussion, backed by Senator Cynthia Lummis, would set a $300 tax threshold per transaction with a $5,000 annual cap. It would thereby eliminate capital gains taxes on small crypto payments.

Whether the exemption will ever be enacted into IRS code, and to which digital assets it would ever apply, is the active subject of Capitol Hill debate.

Under current law, the IRS treats all digital assets as property, so every sale, including the de facto sale of crypto while purchasing a good or service, triggers a tax reporting obligation.

Read more: Coinbase boosts lobbying efforts with massive political donations

Coinbase contributed roughly $69 million to the Fairshake super PAC during the 2024 cycle, more than any other donor. Another tracker shows Coinbase political contributions exceeding $59 million.

When Coinbase lobbies, Washington DC listens.

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