From "Infrastructure on the Blockchain" to "Tax-Free Payments": Understanding the Panoramic View of the US Crypto Strategy

Recent U.S. regulatory and legislative moves signal a systematic effort to integrate crypto assets into the mainstream financial system by reducing institutional friction and building a clear compliance framework.

Regulatory Clarity Shift: With Michael Selig as the new CFTC Chairman, there is a push for crypto market structure legislation. This marks a transition from SEC-led enforcement to CFTC-led rulemaking, aiming to end regulatory uncertainty and "turf wars."
Tax Relief Proposal: A bipartisan draft bill seeks to exempt certain stablecoin payments from capital gains tax and allow a 5-year delay in recognizing staking income. This aims to lower transaction costs and encourage crypto's use as a payment method.
Strategic Layered Approach: The U.S. strategy appears comprehensive:
- Infrastructure: DTCC's pilot for on-chain, tokenized asset clearing.
- Regulation: CFTC advancing legislation to define clear trading rules.
- Application: Tax proposals to reduce friction in payments and holding.
Overall Goal: These coordinated steps—technological, legal, and fiscal—aim to remove barriers for large-scale institutional and commercial adoption of cryptocurrencies, potentially enabling smoother integration into the global financial system.

If the on-chain deployment of the U.S. Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) signifies a reshaping of the U.S. financial system's "infrastructure," then the latest news from U.S. regulators indicates a systemic effort to eliminate "institutional frictions."

In the past 24 hours, the US crypto market has seen two new developments that could significantly impact the industry landscape:

Increased regulatory certainty: Michael Selig was officially sworn in as CFTC chairman and stated that Congress is ready to submit the crypto market structure bill to the president's desk.
Reduced transaction costs: US lawmakers from both parties have drafted a new bill to exempt certain stablecoin payments from capital gains tax and allow the recognition of staking income to be delayed by 5 years.

This is not just an isolated positive development. Combined with the previous news of DTCC's approval for a pilot program, you'll find that the United States is building a complete compliance loop, from infrastructure to application scenarios.

The "transfer" of regulatory power

For a long time, one of the biggest challenges facing crypto companies in the United States has been the uncertainty of regulatory rules. The "turf war" between the SEC and CFTC has left market participants feeling lost.

However, this situation underwent a substantial change with Michael Selig taking the helm of the CFTC. Upon assuming office, he clearly stated his intention to push for legislation governing the crypto market structure.

This is not a unilateral action by the CFTC, but rather a tacit cooperation with the SEC. Just last month, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins proposed a "four-tier classification structure," proactively removing digital products (such as Bitcoin and Ethereum) from the category of securities.

Today, the CFTC's legislative commitment is precisely to take over the jurisdiction relinquished by the SEC.

As Congress moves forward with legislation, the regulatory logic will shift from “SEC enforcement-driven” to “CFTC legislation-driven”, ending the chaotic state of “territory grabbing” and “blind box enforcement” among regulatory agencies.

Bipartisan proposal

If the CFTC has solved the compliance framework problem, then the new tax bill currently being drafted directly addresses the pain points of practical application.

Although the bill is still in the draft stage, its two core proposals have already demonstrated the legislators' determination to remove payment bottlenecks:

Proposed exemption of small payment tax

Under current tax law, using crypto assets for payments may trigger capital gains tax reporting, which significantly increases compliance costs for payment scenarios. The new draft proposes exempting certain stablecoin payments from capital gains tax.

If this provision is ultimately implemented, it will eliminate friction in encrypted payments through institutional means, enabling them to circulate in commercial activities as true "currency" rather than "asset".

Proposed to allow delayed recognition of pledged proceeds

Previously, staking rewards incurred tax liabilities upon receipt. The new draft proposes allowing a five-year delay in revenue recognition. This aims to reduce cash flow pressure on holders and encourage long-term holding from a tax perspective.

While there is still a gap between the "draft" and the "law," this represents a significant shift in Washington's direction: they are beginning to think about how to make crypto assets "easy to use," rather than just "easy to manage," from a tax perspective.

A panoramic view of the US encryption strategy

By piecing together recent regulatory developments, a clear picture is emerging:

Infrastructure layer: DTCC is on-chain, and the clearing system begins to test the acceptance of tokenized assets.
Regulators: The CFTC is pushing for legislation to clarify trading rules and regulatory boundaries.
Application layer: Tax proposals are being followed up in an attempt to reduce the friction costs of payment and holding.

This series of actions demonstrates that the United States is attempting to systematically eliminate barriers across various dimensions—technology, law, and taxation.

The "starting pistol" adopted on a large scale

When the back-end is integrated, the rules are clear, and potential tax frictions are removed, the large-scale adoption of crypto assets will no longer be a distant vision, but a reality with an institutional foundation.

If the on-chain implementation of DTCC is a "reassurance" for financial institutions, then the advancement of tax proposals is an "expectation of a passport" for commercial applications.

The future of the crypto world may truly integrate into the global financial system in a more compliant and less frictional way.

*The content of this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Investing involves risk; please invest cautiously.