Opinion: The U.S. needs stablecoin rules before crypto tax reform

Industry leaders and legal experts say U.S. cryptocurrency regulation needs more clarity on stablecoins and banking relationships before lawmakers prioritize tax reform.

“In my opinion, taxation is not necessarily a priority for upgrading U.S. cryptocurrency regulation,” said Mattan Erder, general counsel at third-layer decentralized blockchain network Orbs.

Erder said a “tailored regulatory approach” to areas including securities law and removing “barriers to banking” are priorities for U.S. lawmakers and have “more benefits” for the industry.

“The new Trump administration is clearly all-in on crypto and is taking steps (including during his first term) that we could only dream of a few years ago,” he said. “Crypto regulation seems to be able to have it all and get more clear and reasonable regulation in all areas, including taxation.”

Erder noted, however, that there are limits to what President Donald Trump can achieve through executive orders and actions by regulators alone. “At some point, the law itself will need to change, and for that, he’ll need Congress,” he said.

Trump issued an executive order on March 7 directing the government to use crypto assets seized in criminal cases to establish a national Bitcoin reserve, which was seen as a signal of increased federal support for digital assets.

Debanking concerns remain

Despite the government's recent moves to support cryptocurrencies, industry experts say that cryptocurrency companies may still face difficulties in banking access until at least January 2026.

"It is too early to say that debanking is over now because Trump will not be able to appoint new Fed governors until January next year," Caitlin Long, founder and CEO of Custodia Bank, said on Cointelegraph's Chainreaction daily X show.

In June 2024, Coinbase launched a lawsuit, which led to the release of letters from U.S. banking regulators showing that U.S. banking regulators asked certain financial institutions to "pause" crypto banking activities, and the industry's anger over so-called debanking reached a climax.

Stablecoin legislation may release new growth points

David Pakman, managing partner of cryptocurrency investment company CoinFund, said that the stablecoin regulatory framework may encourage more traditional financial institutions to adopt blockchain-based payment methods.

"Some of the legislation that may be passed in the United States, such as the Stablecoin Act, will put many traditional banks, financial services and payment companies on the cryptocurrency track," said Pakman.

"We heard this directly when we talked to them; they want to use the crypto track as a low-cost, transparent, 24-hour, non-intermediary money transfer network."

Bo Hines, executive director of the President's Digital Asset Advisory Committee, said that the industry is waiting for progress in the United States' stablecoin legislation, which may be introduced as soon as the next two months.

The GENIUS Act, which stands for "Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for Stablecoins in the United States," will establish collateral guidelines for stablecoin issuers while requiring full compliance with anti-money laundering laws.