Summary:
- A bipartisan tax bill has cleared the House Committee on Ways and Means. On September 16, the House Ways and Means Committee passed the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act (H.R. 10357) by a 38-5 vote, addressing wash sale parity, the treatment of mining and staking income, a de minimis exemption for network fees, and an exemption for per-transaction Form 1099-DA filing.
- The action now moves to the Senate. With Senator Daines’s bill now introduced (the ADAPT Act), digital asset tax reform now has a path for inclusion in an end of year legislative package.
- CCI is prepared to continue working with Congressional leaders to advance a workable digital asset tax policy framework. While the Senate and House bills both advance the goal of providing clear goals for the taxation of digital assets, there are important differences in both approach and scope. Read our summary of the key differences between the House and Senate bills here.
Tax rules shape where builders build, where capital flows, and whether everyday users can participate in digital asset networks at all. A clear, administrable, and comprehensive digital asset tax framework is essential to unlocking the next wave of innovation and ensuring it is built in the United States rather than offshore. It is a policy priority in its own right, and one Congress now has a real opportunity to deliver.
On September 16, the House Committee on Ways and Means advanced the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act (H.R. 10357) by a bipartisan 38-5 vote. The markup followed nine months of sustained engagement by the Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI) with Congressional tax writers. Now, Senator Daines (R-MT) has introduced the ADAPT Act, with Senators Lummis, Moreno and Chair Scott as cosponsors.
CCI will continue to work with Congressional leaders in both parties to enact a practical tax framework for digital assets that unlocks innovation and upholds established tax approaches.
2026 timeline: advancing a digital asset tax framework
January
- CCI joined a Ways and Means industry roundtable on a digital asset tax bill planned for spring, providing Committee staff with data and real-world examples to support the case for legislation
- CCI worked with its members to provide feedback to House staffers on the Miller-Horsford PARITY Act discussion draft
- CCI cosigned a letter with the Bitcoin Policy Institute urging de minimis relief for both payment stablecoins and major network tokens
February
- CCI hosted a Senate staff briefing with member companies on staking rewards, stablecoins under the GENIUS Act, and a de minimis exemption for retail transactions
- The Tax and Federal GA Working Groups met with Ways and Means majority staff on the forthcoming bill
March
- CCI met with Ways and Means member offices, including Democratic offices engaged on the Miller-Horsford draft, on the timing of staking rewards, de minimis exemptions, and administrability
April
- CCI met with Democratic Ways and Means members on GENIUS Act implementation and guardrails for a de minimis exemption, ahead of draft legislation expected in May
- CCI and the Solana Policy Institute hosted a “Proof of Steak” reception on tax and staking for nearly 60 congressional, regulatory, and industry stakeholders
- CCI published An Open Letter in Support of a Digital Asset De Minimis Tax Exemption, co-signed by Block, Coinbase, Figment, Galaxy, Kraken, and the Solana Policy Institute
- CCI made the case for a reset of U.S. crypto tax policy in The Open Banker.
- CCI circulated a joint Jarrett amicus brief with the Solana Policy Institute and the Blockchain Association for Working Group review
May
- Representatives Miller and Horsford circulated revised PARITY Act language; CCI continued to share member feedback, and monitored a separate bill championed by Chairman Smith
- CCI wrote to Ways and Means in support of a comprehensive legislative tax framework, setting out five priorities: staking, stablecoins, de minimis relief, parity with traditional financial assets, and repatriation of foreign-held assets
June
- Ways and Means held a legislative hearing on a new package of digital asset tax bills; CCI submitted a letter of support to thank the Committee for its work advancing digital asset tax legislation
- CCI continued to engage with House members, providing recommendations for improving the text at markup, including on the construction of a staking deferral window and an effective de minimis provision, and on addressing Representative Horsford’s concerns to secure bipartisan support
- CCI published ABA Gets Staking Wrong: Staking Rewards Aren’t Bank Interest, countering the American Bankers Association’s claim that staking rewards are economically equivalent to bank interest
- CCI joined the Blockchain Association and the Digital Chamber in a joint letter urging passage of H.R. 9175 as introduced, opposing an amendment that would cap the deferral election at five years
- CCI co-hosted a House staff briefing on the tax treatment of staking and mining rewards with the Blockchain Association, Fidelity, and the Solana Policy Institute, making the case for taxing rewards at sale, sourcing income to the taxpayer’s residence, and excluding passive delegated rewards from UBTI
July–August
- As House Committee on Ways and Means worked towards a legislative markup in September, CCI continued to engage with Committee staff and Member offices on building bipartisan support and opportunities to strengthen the bill to drive additional onshoring of blockchain operations.
September
- CCI released Securing the Future of Digital Finance Infrastructure, a report on how the United States taxes staking rewards and what that treatment costs in infrastructure, talent, and capital
- CCI wrote to Ways and Means ahead of the markup, thanking the Committee for its work and welcoming H.R. 10357, while urging broader de minimis relief and the appropriate timing of taxation for newly created staking and mining rewards.
- Ways and Means advanced the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act (H.R. 10357) by a bipartisan 38-5 vote
- CCI continues to engage with House Leadership on House floor timing and the Senate Finance Committee on the ADAPT Act
Looking ahead
The Senate is expected to recess around October 1, and the House is out until after the election. A Committee-passed tax bill gives the post-election session a concrete starting point in the House, and the introduction of Senator Daines’s digital asset tax bill the Aligning Digital Assets with Principles of Taxation (ADAPT) Act establishes a companion track in the Senate. CCI welcomes Senator Daine’s leadership in bringing the issue to the Senate, and will continue to work with Senate Finance Committee staff as the bill is considered.
The Congressional lame duck has historically provided legislative opportunities for bipartisan tax priorities. CCI will continue to work with leaders in both parties to enact administrable rules that apply longstanding tax principles to digital assets.
