Coinbase executives have dismissed claims that the cryptocurrency exchange is barring de minimis tax exemptions for Bitcoin (BTC) transactions above a certain threshold.
Several Bitcoin supporters on social media have speculated that the exchange has told US lawmakers that the BTC tax exemption is not necessary because BTC is not widely used as a medium of exchange.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong responded by calling the claims “absolutely false” and a form of misinformation.
“I’ve spent a lot of time lobbying for a Bitcoin tax exemption and will continue to do so. It’s definitely the right thing to do,” he said.
In separate messages, Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s chief legal officer, said, “We have never lobbied against BTC,” while Faryar Shirzod, the crypto exchange’s chief policy officer, echoed that statement.
Cointelegraph reached out to Coinbase, but the company declined to comment beyond responses from executives.
According to the supporters of the biggest crypto, the tax policy is one of the main obstacles to the use of Bitcoin as a payment method, because every sale or transfer creates a taxable event and prohibits its use as an electronic cash system.
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BTC proponents and pro-crypto lawmakers are calling for BTC to be tax exempt
In July 2025, US Senator Cynthia Lummis introduced a bill that proposed a de minimis tax exemption for cryptocurrency transactions of $300 or less, with a minimum annual exemption of $5,000.
However, the bill did not pass, and a de minimis exemption for BTC transactions was not included in the CLARITY Act bill, according to the advocacy group Bitcoin Policy Institute.
Instead, the tax exemption will only apply to USD stablecoins, according to Conner Brown, managing director of the Bitcoin Policy Institute.
Washington, DC-based Crypto Advocacy Association Blockchain Association also floated a proposal for a crypto tax and presented the plan to US lawmakers in February.
The proposal sought an exemption from “low-dollar” crypto transactions, but did not specify a dollar amount.
“A meaningful de minimis exemption for digital asset transactions would eliminate disproportionate reporting for individual taxpayers,” the proposal states.
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