Crypto Fundraising Platform Urges Senators to Eliminate Appraisal Requirements on Crypto Donations

Crypto fundraising platform “The Giving Block” has sent a letter to Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) urging them to eliminate appraisal requirements on crypto donations.

Current Requirements are Burdensome to Donors

The Giving Block stated that the current requirements make crypto contributions overly burdensome to donors. Donations exceeding $5,000 in value currently require donors to hire a qualified appraiser to provide written approval of the transaction for accounting purposes.

Difficulties in Meeting Requirements

According to the firm, donors are often unaware of or confused about these requirements, and finding qualified appraisers familiar with digital assets can be difficult and costly. Charges for appraisal services can range from 4% to 40% of the donation itself.

Stablecoins Should be Exempt

The letter argues that appraisal services should not be required for stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), as these assets are designed to be interchangeable 1:1 for U.S. dollars. Appraising them provides no value to the donor, charity, or the U.S. Treasury.

Support from Crypto and Nonprofit Groups

The Giving Block is aligned with crypto policy think tank Coin Center on this issue. They expect many crypto and nonprofit groups to support the change.

Response to Senate Finance Committee Request

The letter is a response to a Senate Finance Committee request in July for input from industry experts on how to address regulatory issues surrounding the taxation of crypto assets.

Crypto Donations Similar to Readily Valued Property

The recommendation to eliminate appraisal requirements on crypto donations aligns with Coin Center’s previous call to scrap these requirements. Crypto assets are similar to readily valued property like cash and stocks, for which exchange price data is widely available.

Crypto Donations for Humanitarian and Political Causes

Crypto transactions are ideal for supporting humanitarian and political causes when traditional financial rails may be closed. The crypto community has previously rallied to directly send hundreds of millions of dollars worth of crypto to Ukraine.

The Future of Philanthropy

The Giving Block believes that the crypto community, with its fast, easy, and verifiable transactions, combined with the increasing wealth held in crypto by young tech-savvy potential donors, is the future of philanthropy.

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