Senate Republican Develops Framework for Digital-Asset Tax Rules

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., is developing a digital-asset tax framework that would apply traditional investment rules to cryptocurrencies while setting specific treatment for staking, stablecoin payments and other blockchain activity.

The proposal would apply wash-sale and constructive-sale rules, as well as an elective mark-to-market system, when digital assets function like securities or commodities. It would also address network fees, lending, investment trusts, passive validation and charitable contributions.

“The current tax code forces taxpayers to apply rules written decades before blockchain technology even existed,” Daines said in July. He said the framework is intended to reduce complexity, improve compliance and protect the tax base.

The House Ways and Means Committee approved H.R. 10357, the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act, on Sept. 16. The measure would address reporting requirements and the tax treatment of mining and staking, putting Congress on parallel paths toward digital-asset tax legislation.