The bigger question now is whether it can work in everyday life.
For something to function as money, people need to be able to use it naturally — without turning every small transaction into a record-keeping project.
Right now, that friction still exists.
Using crypto to buy a coffee, pay a freelancer, or split a small expense can create tracking and reporting complexity that discourages normal use. Not because people don’t believe in the technology, but because most people don’t want simple transactions to create extra work later.
Builders understand this immediately.
Tools that make work harder don’t get adopted.
Tools that remove friction do.
Sometimes progress doesn’t require inventing something new. Sometimes it just requires removing the obstacle that prevents normal behavior.
A practical de minimis exemption for small crypto transactions could be one of those changes.
If small purchases could happen without triggering capital gains calculations, crypto could begin functioning more like actual money — something usable in everyday situations, not just held as an investment.
That kind of change wouldn’t alter the core technology. It wouldn’t reduce security. It wouldn’t prevent responsible reporting for larger transactions.
It would simply make everyday use realistic.
And realistic tools are the ones people actually use.
If crypto is going to become part of normal economic activity, usability matters just as much as innovation.
Practical systems win in the long run.
Ideas are useful — but usable tools are better.
If you’d like to review or adapt the working draft that inspired this post, the template is available below.
📄 Download the resolution template
How this can move forward locally
This idea is not theoretical. The Village of Utica, Ohio passed a resolution supporting a practical de minimis framework and shared it with elected officials as part of ongoing digital asset policy discussions.
Every state approaches legislation differently, but the general path is straightforward:
1. Adapt the template language for your state or jurisdiction
2. Share with legislators or policy-focused organizations
3. Invite feedback and collaboration
4. Refine language based on practical considerations
Many useful policy ideas begin as simple working drafts that improve through discussion.
Progress often starts with small, workable steps.
Whether approaching this topic from a technology perspective, a policy perspective, or simply from the standpoint of better tools — reducing unnecessary friction benefits everyone.
Technology should simplify work.
Money should work like money.