The House Ways and Means Committee is set to vote on a comprehensive stablecoin and crypto taxation package this week that notably omits a contentious provision sought by the industry — one that would have allowed miners and stakers to defer tax liability on rewards until they actually sell the tokens.
As first reported by CoinTelegraph, the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act (H.R. 10357), published alongside the committee’s markup notice Monday, strips out language from Representative Mike Carey’s Tax Clarity for Mining and Staking Act. That bill, introduced in June, would have given taxpayers a choice: recognize newly created tokens as taxable income when received, or defer taxation until the point of sale — treating them more like self-created property.
The omission marks a setback for cryptocurrency trade groups who argued that immediate taxation of mining and staking rewards creates liquidity pressures on operators who may not have received cash payment yet. Without the deferral mechanism, rewards remain taxable the moment they are received or come under the recipient’s control — potentially long before conversion to fiat currency.
What the Bill Actually Covers
The legislation isn’t entirely unfavourable to the industry. The stablecoin provisions retain several mining and staking components. It would establish that income from blockchain validator activities qualifies as ordinary income, clarify whether it’s sourced domestically or abroad, and permit qualifying investment trusts to stake digital assets without jeopardizing their tax status.
The package also carves out de minimis relief: taxpayers won’t recognize gains or losses when crypto is used to pay network or transaction fees up to $10. More significantly, it proposes special tax treatment for qualifying US dollar stablecoins and permits certain digital asset loans without triggering taxable sale treatment.
Additional measures include simplified accounting rules for widely traded crypto assets, extension of wash-sale and constructive-sale rules to digital assets, and a voluntary disclosure program for taxpayers correcting prior tax violations on crypto holdings.
Industry Pushback Continues
The Blockchain Association, Crypto Council for Innovation, and Digital Chamber have been vocal opponents of the reward-taxation timing. In responses to earlier committee drafts circulated in June, these groups contended that taxing rewards before sale creates real operational challenges for mining and staking operations. They also opposed an amendment that would have capped deferral to five years.
The broader legislative context matters here. The House bill emerges as the Senate simultaneously considers the CLARITY Act, which would reset the jurisdictional dividing line between the SEC and CFTC in crypto oversight — a separate but equally significant regulatory question for the sector.
With the stablecoin provisions intact but the reward-deferral carve-out removed, the final language reflects a compromise that preserves immediate tax recognition on mining and staking income while extending clearer rules around stablecoin issuance and crypto payments for fees.