Trump Makes History Signing First Crypto Bill into Law

The law repeals the IRS’s controversial 'DeFi broker rule'

President Donald Trump | AP Images

In a historic move, President Trump has signed into law a bill that blocks the Internal Revenue Service from collecting tax reporting data from decentralized crypto platforms.

It marks the first time a cryptocurrency-specific piece of legislation has become law in the United States.

The bill, introduced under the Congressional Review Act by Republican Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) to repeal the IRS’s so-called “DeFi broker rule,” passed the Senate on March 26 with overwhelming bipartisan support in a 70–28 vote. A similar version, led in the House by Congressman Mike Carey (R-OH), had passed with a comparable ‘supermajority’ just two weeks earlier.

The White House confirmed the move Thursday evening.

“Repealing the IRS’s DeFi broker rule protects innovation and privacy—another major step toward ushering in a golden age for digital assets,” said Bo Hines, Executive Director of the White House Crypto Council, in a post on X.

The controversial rule, introduced in the final days of the Biden administration, would have required decentralized crypto entities, such as exchanges without a central governing body, to comply with traditional IRS reporting requirements. Specifically, it would have mandated DeFi platforms collect and send customer data as well as information on gross proceeds from crypto sales to the IRS. Critics argued that the mandate was overly burdensome, risked stifling innovation, invaded user privacy, and would have significantly hindered growth in the DeFi sector.

“This rule would have undermined American leadership on cryptocurrency and I am grateful to President Trump for signing my resolution into law,” Cruz, who attended the signing ceremony Thursday afternoon, told Crypto In America. “The resolution is a victory for innovation, privacy, and economic freedom.”

“We are protecting the developers who are building the future of cryptocurrency, making clear that the United States will not cede digital leadership to China, and preserving the ability of Americans to conduct transactions without government interference,” he added.

The move is being hailed as a victory by industry leaders, who are looking to the crypto-friendly Trump administration to safeguard the rights of builders and software developers, many of whom felt unfairly targeted by the regulation-heavy Biden administration.

“This bipartisan action underscores our nation's commitment to fostering innovation and ensuring that Americans retain the freedom to choose how they transact, said Amanda Tuminelli, CEO of the DeFi Education Fund, an advocacy group focused on decentralized finance. “President Trump’s signature is a critical signal change for the crypto industry: the United States has embraced a sensible, forward-thinking approach to digital assets.”

The bill signing marks the second major win for DeFi proponents this week, following a Monday memo from the Deputy Attorney General clarifying that the DOJ will no longer pursue software developers for actions taken by third-party users on their platforms.