TL;DR:
- Senator Steve Daines introduced the ADAPT Act, a 56-page legislative bill targeting the digital asset tax framework in the United States.
- The initiative exempts payments for goods and services made with regulated US dollar-backed stablecoins from the recognition of capital gains or losses.
- The bill introduces wash sale rules and exempts network or gas fees of up to $10 from tax calculations.
Steve Daines, Republican senator, introduced a crypto tax bill this Wednesday, September 30. The proposed legislation exempts stablecoin payments from capital gains tax recognition for everyday purchases of goods and services in the United States.
Digital assets have moved into the mainstream, but the tax code hasn’t kept up. My bill would create clearer rules for stablecoins, network fees, staking and lending—while extending familiar tax rules like wash sales and constructive sales to digital assets. pic.twitter.com/W6nXSsTgvX
— Steve Daines (@SteveDaines) September 30, 2026
The 56-page legislative measure was introduced as the Aligning Digital Assets with Principles of Taxation Act or ADAPT Act. According to market reports, the proposal seeks to modernize the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax code by combining traditional financial principles with specialized rules tailored to blockchain technology.
At the core of the bill, taxpayers are exempt from calculating taxable gains or losses when paying with regulated US dollar-pegged stablecoins. Under the statutory language, qualifying consumers would also receive relief from third-party broker reporting requirements. However, professional traders and registered broker-dealers are explicitly excluded from this tax relief.
Additionally, the bill extends wash sale and constructive sale rules to digital assets. According to specialized industry reporting, this provision would curb the practice of tax-loss harvesting through immediate repurchases, bringing the crypto market into alignment with regulations governing equity markets.
New Framework for Mining, Fees, and Decentralized Lending
The draft also establishes tax rules for onchain activities such as staking, mining, and transaction fee payments.
Under the proposal, transactions where digital assets are used to pay network or gas fees of $10 or less will be exempt from realizing capital gains or losses. According to the legislative text, this tax relief excludes high-volume users, wholesale operators, and financial intermediaries.
Regarding staking and mining, the bill outlines revenue sourcing guidelines tied to the taxpayer’s tax residence and the physical location of the hardware. Official text shows that the measure also extends the tax-free treatment for securities lending to qualified digital asset lending transactions.
The bill includes an elective mark-to-market accounting regime for commercial dealers. At the same time, the document defines distinct technical categories—such as receipt tokens, bridging assets, and widely traded digital assets—applying to the latter a $500 million market capitalization threshold combined with liquidity standards.
The Senate proposal moves forward alongside companion legislation passed by the House Ways and Means Committee, which on September 16 approved the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act (H.R. 10357) by a 38–5 vote.
Most provisions outlined in the ADAPT Act would take effect starting this upcoming December 31. For formal enactment, the bill must pass floor votes in both the US Senate and the House of Representatives before heading to the President’s desk for executive signature.
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