The Blockchain Association wants Congress to finish a job it has started, and then paused, more than once. On Thursday, the trade group sent a letter to the top four leaders on Capitol Hill asking them to pass bipartisan digital asset tax legislation.
The letter lays out 10 principles the group wants any final bill to follow. The list ranges from a de minimis exemption to letting Americans hold crypto inside their retirement accounts.
Who got the letter, and what’s in it
The October 22 letter went to House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. On the Senate side, it was addressed to Majority Leader John Thune and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The group’s core argument fits in one line from the letter:
“Sixty-seven million Americans now hold and use digital assets, yet the rules that govern them were written for a different era.”
Among the 10 principles, a few stand out:
A de minimis exemption. This would spare small transactions from triggering a tax calculation. Buying a coffee with crypto currently can mean tracking a gain or loss.
No tax on moving assets between your own wallets. Shifting coins from one wallet you control to another is, functionally, moving money from your left pocket to your right. The association wants the tax code to treat it that way.
Wash sale extensions. Wash sale rules generally stop investors from selling an asset at a loss and quickly buying it back just to claim a deduction. The group’s principles call for extending that framework to digital assets.
Retirement account access. The association wants Americans to be able to hold crypto in retirement accounts.
Research and development credits. The group is also pushing for R&D credits, a nod to builders rather than just holders.
Lindsay Fraser, the association’s Chief Policy Officer, stressed the need for tax rules that are modern and match how the digital economy actually works today. The group, which represents more than 100 firms in the crypto sector, also launched a website, TaxClarityforAmerica.com, to help constituents contact their representatives.
Notably, the association is not endorsing any specific bill. It is setting the terms it wants any bill to meet.
Congress has been here before
The Blockchain Association first released its Digital Asset Tax Principles on February 24, 2026. Thursday’s letter is a reminder, delivered with a little more urgency.
On September 16, 2026, the House Ways and Means Committee approved the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act, H.R. 10357, by a 38-5 vote. The House bill includes a proposed $10 threshold tied to network fees. But it leaves out some tax relief the industry has wanted, specifically around mining and staking activities.
Two weeks later, on September 30, 2026, the Senate introduced its own measure, the ADAPT Act. So both chambers have something on the table.
Then Congress went on recess ahead of the midterm elections. Action on both bills stalled.
What this means for crypto holders and builders
For the 67 million Americans the association cites, the stakes are practical. Today, everyday crypto use can create a trail of small taxable events that most people are not equipped to track. A de minimis exemption and a wallet transfer carve-out would shrink that paperwork considerably.
For investors and traders, the wash sale principle would likely close off a loss-harvesting tactic. The association is signaling it is willing to accept tighter rules in exchange for predictability.
The R&D credit and the mining and staking gap point to the builder side of the story. If the final House bill keeps excluding the relief miners and stakers want, firms in those businesses may keep weighing whether the US is the right place to operate.
What to watch next: whether House leadership schedules H.R. 10357 for a full vote, whether the Senate’s ADAPT Act gains co-sponsors, and whether either bill picks up the mining and staking provisions the industry wants.
Disclosure: This article was edited by John Chen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.