Republican Senator Steve Daines unveiled a new proposal to update tax laws related to digital assets.
The senator from Montana introduced the Aligning Digital Assets with Principles of Taxation Act (ADAPT Act) on Wednesday. Co-sponsored by Daines alongside Senators Lummis, Moreno, and Tim Scott, the bill aims to establish rules for assets such as stablecoins.
Since President Trump took office on a platform supportive of cryptocurrency, lawmakers and regulators have been accelerating efforts to draft rules for digital assets. Last month, the Clarity Act failed in the Senate; the following day, the House Ways and Means Committee overwhelmingly approved legislation that would reshape the tax treatment of cryptocurrency.
Daines wrote on X: "Digital assets have entered the mainstream, but tax laws haven't caught up."
My bill will establish clearer rules for stablecoins, network fees, staking, and lending, while extending familiar tax rules such as wash sales and constructive sales to digital assets.
The bill proposes tax exemptions for everyday use of stablecoins. Purchases of goods or services using eligible USD-stablecoins will not trigger capital gains or losses, and brokers will not be required to report these transactions.
To qualify, such stablecoins must be issued under the GENIUS Act and appear on the quarterly list published by the Treasury, which includes only those coins whose price has consistently remained within 3% of $1 and that you purchased at a price close to $1, within that 3% range.
Additionally, network fees or gas fees paid in cryptocurrency will be considered a tax-free disposition if the total fees associated with a single transaction do not exceed $10 and comply with the anti-splitting rules.
The bill will also, for the first time, apply the wash sale rule to cryptocurrencies. This rule prohibits investors from claiming a tax loss on an asset if they repurchase the same asset within 30 days of selling it. While stock investors have long been subject to this rule, crypto traders have previously been able to sell losing assets and immediately repurchase them.
These rules will apply to all traded digital assets except qualified stablecoins. Assets purchased before the law takes effect will be exempt under a grandfather clause, as will staking rewards, mining rewards, and regular dollar-cost averaging purchases.
Tokenized stocks will be considered assets "substantially identical" to the underlying stocks.
The ADAPT Act has been submitted to the committee for review and must first be approved by the committee before proceeding to a full Senate vote.