The US Congress recently voted to abolish the internal revenue Service’s (IRS) controversial decentralized funding brokerage rule, a great victory for crypto. And on Thursday, President Trump killed the measure for good.

But let’s not fool ourselves – there is more pain to come.

In December 2024, the IRS suggested a broad rule that required DEFI platforms to follow standard crypto -pepper tax rules, including comprehensive user kyc and other information. The Crypto industry immediately pushed back, with several blockchain groups that sued the IRS almost as soon as the rule was announced.

DEFI platforms are not designed to collect this type of information in the first place, and in addition to contradicting the proposed rule defensive goal of protecting privacy while keeping transactions transparent.

Fortunately, this rule is likely to be scrapped completely under Donald Trump administration after the US Senate’s 70-28 vote against the decision on March 26. This follows the US House 292-132 Voting 11 March and the Senate’s former 70-27 vote on March 4, both in favor of abolishing the IRS Defi Broker rule.

If the rule had stuck, it would have hurt the US crypto industry and innovation beyond just defi. As an operator of Crypto Tax Platform Koinly, I know it would have made compliance significantly more expensive and complicated to us too.

But it is far from over.

This cancellation was easy because the rule was so over-the-top that even most government officials saw it as useless. But what happens when the IRS returns with a more subtle, carefully designed rule that is again targeting defi? To topple this version does not prevent the agency from trying again.

I would not be surprised if the IRS now goes on an employment function to defi experts to help with this, especially after bringing several crypto specialists into the Agency in February 2024.

IRS is acting as if there is still a fortune in unified crypto charges

The IRS clearly believes that it is missing out on crypto tax revenue and presses to expand the range as much as possible. Defi may be privately focused, but it still involves money, so it won’t be ignored soon.

The IRS will also not take this rule that will be rejected easily. It would not be a stretch to assume that the agency will increase its revisions even more on US crypto tractors to make sure their archives are accurate.

So what should the US crypto industry do? It can’t afford to be reactive. Instead of waiting for the IRS to drop another hard crypto tax decision, it must push even harder for regulatory clarity on defi to prevent incorrectly informed and transcending rules from surface again.

The best time to press on for more fair IRS -tax rules is now

While Crypto Advocacy groups are already doing a good job with this, the industry must be even more compelling-icing by pushing to rules that separate real brokers from self-executing smart contracts, ensuring fair tax treatment for defi participants and provides clear reporting guidance without stifling innovation.

With Trump in the office and a more pro-crypto-friendly environment in Washington, there is a chance to get rules just before the pendant swings back against aggressive enforcement.

This means that there is a four -year window to get this in shape.

While the crypto industry is proactive and engages in Trump, it must ensure that these rules are fully adopted, clarified and determined. Otherwise, it may face an even harsher regulatory regime under a future administration that is less friendly to decentralized technologies.

The IRS Defi Broker Rule should act as a warning: Until there is a usable framework in place, the supervisory authorities will continue to try to impose harsh rules for a technology they hardly understand.

And next time, the crypto industry may not be so lucky to get enough votes for cancellation.