The "Keep Your Coins Act of 2025" prevents federal agencies from restricting individuals from using virtual currency for personal transactions or from self-custody of their digital assets. This ensures individuals retain control over their convertible virtual currency for lawful transactions.
Warren Davidson
Representative
OH-8
The Keep Your Coins Act of 2025 prevents federal agencies from restricting individuals using convertible virtual currency (digital currency) for personal transactions. It ensures individuals can use self-hosted wallets or other methods to maintain control over their digital assets for any lawful transaction. This protects the right of individuals to use digital currencies to purchase goods and services for personal use.
Keep Your Coins Act of 2025: New Bill Protects Personal Crypto Use, Limits Federal Oversight
The "Keep Your Coins Act of 2025" aims to solidify your right to use and control your own cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin or Ethereum, without federal agency interference. Specifically, it prevents any federal agency from blocking you from using crypto to buy goods or services for yourself, or from holding your crypto in a self-hosted wallet (basically, a digital wallet where you, and only you, control the keys). This bill focuses on personal use – think buying a coffee or paying for online services with crypto, not running a large-scale crypto exchange.
Crypto in Your Hands
The core of this bill is about personal financial control. It ensures that as a "covered user"—someone using crypto for personal purchases—you have the freedom to manage your digital assets as you see fit. The bill defines a "covered user" as anyone who obtains convertible virtual currency to purchase goods or services for their own use (SEC. 2). This means you can hold and use your crypto directly, without needing a third-party custodian, as long as it's for lawful purposes.
Real-World Rollout
Imagine you're a freelancer who gets paid in Bitcoin. This bill ensures you can keep that Bitcoin in your own wallet and use it to pay your rent or buy groceries, without worrying about a federal agency suddenly restricting your access. Or, if you're a small business owner who wants to accept Ethereum as payment, this bill supports your ability to do so, provided you're using it for legitimate business transactions.
Potential Pitfalls
While the bill champions individual control, it also raises some practical questions. By limiting federal oversight, it could become more challenging to track and prevent illegal activities like money laundering or tax evasion that utilize cryptocurrency. For example, if someone uses crypto to buy illegal goods online, the lack of agency oversight might make it harder to trace those transactions. It could also present challenges related to consumer protection if no oversight agency exists.
The Big Picture
This bill sits at the intersection of technology, personal finance, and civil liberties. It builds on the existing concept of convertible virtual currency but explicitly protects the individual's right to self-custody and use. However, it also potentially clashes with existing financial regulations designed to prevent illicit financial flows. The long-term effects could include increased crypto adoption for everyday transactions, but also a potential uptick in crypto-related crimes if enforcement becomes too restricted.