The Blockchain Association asked congressional leaders on Thursday to pass bipartisan digital asset tax legislation, setting out 10 principles it wants any bill to follow, from a de minimis exemption to letting Americans hold crypto in retirement accounts.
The trade group, which says it has more than 100 members, sent the letter on Oct. 22 to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, as well as Senate leaders John Thune, the majority leader, and Chuck Schumer, the minority leader. Lindsay Fraser, the association’s chief policy officer, signed it.
“Sixty-seven million Americans now hold and use digital assets, yet the rules that govern them were written for a different era,” the letter said. Lawmakers’ progress on crypto market rules, the group argued, “cannot fully succeed without a tax framework that is clear, administrable, technology-neutral, and aligned with economic reality.”
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What the Group Wants
The association calls the list its Digital Asset Tax Principles. The group first published the principles on Feb. 24, timed to a Capitol Hill fly-in by its members. Besides a small-transaction exemption, it asks Congress to treat stablecoins like cash, including relief from Form 1099-DA reporting, and to limit broker reporting to firms that hold or control customer funds, leaving out non-custodial developers.
It also backs extending wash sale rules to crypto, as long as digital assets aren’t put at a disadvantage to stocks and other traditional assets. Shifting coins between a holder’s own wallets, using smart contracts or bridging across blockchains should not be taxable when ownership and exposure don’t change, the letter said.
The rest of the list: mining and staking rewards taxed when the holder disposes of them, an optional mark-to-market election, a safe harbor for foreign persons trading crypto on U.S. exchanges, no appraisal requirement for charitable gifts of widely traded tokens, and R&D tax credits for blockchain development.
Where Congress Stands
The letter does not name a specific bill. In the House, the Ways and Means Committee advanced the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act in September. That bill would exclude crypto used to pay network or trading fees of $10 or less from gain or loss calculations, starting in 2028.
The broader market structure push is stuck in the Senate. The chamber failed to advance the Clarity Act on Sept. 15, when a procedural vote came up short of the required 60 as Democrats pressed for ethics limits tied to President Trump’s crypto ventures.
“Americans who hold and use digital assets are not asking for special treatment under the tax code,” the letter said, adding that they “want to meet their tax obligations.”
Related Listen: Why the Clarity Act’s Senate Clock Is Running Out
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