Crypto's First Big Tax Bill Clears Committee 38-5. Stakers Are Still Waiting.

The House Ways and Means Committee voted 38-5 on Sept. 16 to advance the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act, H.R. 10357. That's the first real crypto tax framework to clear a committee, and it's now headed to the full House after Chairman Jason Smith's substitute was adopted.

Here's the gist: the bill hands the industry several things it's been asking for since roughly forever. It kills gain-or-loss recognition on qualifying network and transaction fees of $10 or less, starting with dispositions after Dec. 31, 2027. It creates special treatment for US dollar stablecoins. It extends lending safe harbors and mark-to-market accounting to eligible dealers and traders, and it simplifies the rules for crypto charitable donations. Treasury also gets 12 months to write guidance on foreign entities tied to DAOs, including a route for foundations to reorganize as US corporations and possible safe harbors for entities formed before Sept. 14.

But the bill takes as much as it gives. Wash-sale and constructive-sale rules would now apply to digital assets. Those strategies worked for years because crypto sat outside rules that already cover stocks. Not anymore.

And the staking question is still open.

The package says validation income is ordinary income, sourced to where the taxpayer or the business sits. It lets qualifying investment trusts stake without losing trust status. What it doesn't do is let miners and stakers defer recognition until they actually sell the tokens. So an operator can receive a token reward, owe tax on it at that day's price, and hold zero cash to cover the bill. If the token drops before they sell, that's their problem. The Crypto Council for Innovation flagged exactly this before the markup and is still pushing for a fix.

CCI also wants de minimis relief that goes beyond $10 fees. Fair point. A $10 cap on fee relief isn't the same thing as letting someone buy coffee with crypto without generating a taxable event.

Look, this is a genuine step forward. Clearer rules pull capital and builders back onshore, and the DAO provision by itself could bring foundations home. But relief aimed at nine-dollar network fees is small compared to the tax bill sitting on a validator who never sold a thing. Bottom line: the timing fix is the amendment to watch when this hits the full House.