Blockchain Association urges Congress to modernize crypto tax rules

The Blockchain Association has proposed a set of crypto tax reforms after meeting with House Ways and Means Committee offices on Capitol Hill.

Summary

• The Blockchain Association has proposed crypto tax reforms in a meeting with House Ways and Means Committee offices.
• The group called for staking rewards to be taxed only upon sale, alongside privacy-focused reporting rules and broker clarity for non-custodial platforms, among others.

“There is real bipartisan opportunity to modernize digital asset tax policy in 2026. We look forward to continued engagement with lawmakers to deliver clear, workable rules that support compliance and strengthen U.S. competitiveness,” the Blockchain Association wrote in a Tuesday X post.

In its Digital Asset Tax Principles, released the same day, the crypto advocacy group lobbied lawmakers for a “de minimis exemption for small digital asset transactions” and for treating stablecoins as cash for tax purposes, saying routine use should not create disproportionate tax reporting obligations.

The Blockchain Association also said that reporting rules should safeguard taxpayer privacy while still enabling effective enforcement against illicit activities. Further, it added that developers and non-custodial platforms should not be treated as brokers.

The group also contends that taxing staking rewards “upon creation” can create liquidity and valuation challenges, and proposed treating them as self-created property taxable only upon sale or disposition.

Other key proposals included extending wash sale rules to digital assets and introducing a statutory safe harbor for foreign persons trading on U.S. exchanges.

As previously reported by crypto.news, last year Senator Cynthia Lummis introduced a standalone bill that pushed for a de minimis exemption on crypto transactions under $300 alongside a $5,000 annual cap on total tax-free activity.

The senator’s bill also targeted the issue of double taxation that digital asset holders face during the staking and mining process, where rewards can be taxed at the time of receipt and again upon sale.

However, it was met with strong opposition from Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, who said at the time that the proposal would allow crypto investors to avoid reporting income on certain transactions and create what she described as a loophole in the tax code.