United States: The Amendment That Was Supposed To Save Web3 Has Just Been Rejected!

There are nights that make history. In Washington, the last one was long. Very long. Donald Trump and the Republicans are rejoicing. Their flagship bill, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” has just passed. A razor-thin vote: 50 to 50, narrowly decided by Vice President JD Vance. Meanwhile, the crypto community is biting its tongue. Not a word, not a line about the long-criticized tax injustice by its defenders. Crypto and Web3 remain on the sidelines, forgotten. Deliberately?

Crypto and Web3 ignored: is the battle already lost?

“For years, miners and stakers have been taxed TWICE,” fumes Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis on X. She was aiming for a change in the law. Too ambitious? Her amendment didn’t even make it to the Senate floor.

The proposal aimed to eliminate the double taxation on block rewards – taxed the first time upon receipt, and a second time upon sale. Result? Industry professionals, already hurt by regulatory uncertainty, will continue to foot the bill. Lummis advocates for the United States to become “the global superpower of bitcoin and crypto“. But the message fell on deaf ears.

David wasn’t even allowed to face Goliath. Crypto was not fought head-on. It was circumvented. Erased. A strategic choice not to complicate an already controversial bill? Or simple contempt for a sector still seen as marginal by the old elites?

Donald Trump, Meta, and hospitals: an ideological war

The heart of the debate was not just technical. It was philosophical. Who pays, who receives, who decides? Senator Elizabeth Warren launched a missile:

Donald Trump and the Republicans want to write a 15 billion check to Meta… funded by cuts in the health of millions of Americans.

Crypto, in this context, becomes almost collateral damage. By refusing to include Lummis’ proposal, the Senate missed an opportunity to advance crypto taxation in a fair direction. But the order of the day was different: prioritize tax reliefs for big businesses, secure votes from key states, and pass a historic bill, come what may.

This is a clash of economic models. On one side, decentralized and sometimes unpredictable innovation. On the other, the comfort of established giants. The crypto ecosystem, through Lummis, tried to break through. But in this tense climate, the crypto issue was simply not a priority for the law’s architects.

Fierce opposition: the fight continues in Congress, what about Web3?

The story is not over. The bill will return to the House of Representatives. The suspense remains. But tensions are at their peak. Three Republicans voted against their own party in the Senate. Every vote will count in the coming days.

Key figures:

• 50-50: the exact vote score in the Senate;
• 1 decisive vote: that of Vice President JD Vance;
• $15 billion: amount pointed out by Elizabeth Warren as a gift to Meta;
• 2 taxes for crypto players: on the reward and on the sale;
• 0 amendments for crypto and Web3 retained in the final text.

The message sent to the crypto community? Ambiguous, but revealing. It will have to continue to make its voice heard, even as debates on AI, health, and redistribution take all the spotlight. And Trump, for his part, moves forward. With the support of a unified base, he is putting the pieces in place for his return.

Yet a breath of hope remains. The GENIUS Act, recently adopted, has rekindled interest in digital innovations and technological sovereignty. Donald Trump knows how to handle symbols. Is this choice to ignore (temporarily?) crypto part of a strategy, a forgetfulness… or just a matter of timing?