According to Pierre Rochard, a board member of Strive, a Bitcoin treasury company, the biggest obstacle to using Bitcoin (BTC) as a payment method is tax policy, not scaling technology that reduces settlement times and transaction costs.
“Here’s a metaphor: the best athlete can beat the worst athlete 100% of the time if the best athlete plays. This drops to 0% if he doesn’t play and lets the weaker athlete win” -Rochard he said about the current lack of employ of BTC as a payment method.
In December 2025, the Bitcoin Policy Institute, a nonprofit policy advocacy organization, raised the alarm over the lack of de minimis tax exemption for miniature Bitcoin transactions.
The lack of de minimis tax exemption means that each transfer of BTC to another person for payment is subject to tax, which makes it hard to employ it as a medium of exchange.
U.S. lawmakers are considering limiting the de minimis tax exemption to over-collateralized dollar-pegged stablecoins, which are tokenized U.S. dollars backed 1:1 by fiat cash deposits or short-term government securities, prompting a backlash from bitcoiners.
Related: The Netherlands risks capital flight due to unrealized tax on profits from shares, cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin community reacts to lack of de minimis exemptions for BTC
In July 2025, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, an ally of the cryptocurrency industry, introduced Bill proposing a de minimis tax exemption for digital asset transactions worth $300 or less.
The bill introduced an annual exemption limit of $5,000 and also included provisions exempting cryptocurrencies used for charitable donations.
The Lummis Act proposed deferring revenues from staking cryptocurrencies to secure a proof-of-stake blockchain network or revenues derived from mining proof-of-work cryptocurrencies until those assets are sold.
Jack Dorsey, founder of payments company Square, which integrated Bitcoin payments into its point-of-sale systems in October, called for a tax exemption for miniature BTC transactions.
“We want BTC to become everyday money as soon as possible” – Dorsey he said. Meanwhile, others, such as Bitcoin supporter and co-founder of the media outlet Truth for the Commoner (TFTC), Marty Bent, he said Proposed tax exemption for stablecoins is ‘nonsense’.
Warehouse: How cryptocurrency regulations have changed in 2025 – and how they will change in 2026
