Senate Kills Crypto Market Bill, Then House Passes Tax Reform the Next Morning

TLDR

• The House Ways and Means Committee passed the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act 38-5 with bipartisan support
• The bill creates a $10 de minimis exemption for small crypto transactions to ease tax burdens
• It covers stablecoins, staking, mining, lending, wash-sale rules, and broker requirements
• The vote came less than 24 hours after the Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act 49-50
• SEC and CFTC chairs both said they will push ahead with crypto regulation using existing authority

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The House Ways and Means Committee voted 38-5 on Wednesday to advance the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act, moving crypto tax reform closer to a full House vote.

PASSED: The Ways and Means Committee just passed the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act — a historic step toward establishing a clear tax framework for digital assets.

Through strong bipartisan collaboration, Republicans and Democrats came together to modernize outdated tax rules… pic.twitter.com/g5aUK7TVNL

— Ways and Means Committee (@WaysandMeansGOP) September 16, 2026

The bill was approved with bipartisan support and covers a wide range of crypto activity, including stablecoins, mining, staking, lending, transaction fees, and broker reporting requirements.

What the Bill Would Do

One of the key provisions is a de minimis exemption for small transactions. Under the bill, crypto users would not have to report gains or losses on transactions involving $10 or less in network or transaction fees.

Committee Chairman Jason Smith pointed out that without such a rule, buying a cup of coffee with crypto “triggers an absurd maze of compliance.”

The legislation would also extend wash-sale rules to widely traded digital assets, bringing crypto more in line with how traditional financial assets are treated.

Special tax treatment would be created for qualifying dollar-pegged stablecoins and certain crypto lending agreements.

Representative Steven Horsford, a Nevada Democrat who has backed this type of legislation for the past year, said the bill provides “specific treatment for qualifying dollar stablecoins and small network and transaction fees.”

Not all committee members were supportive. Representative Lloyd Doggett, a Texas Democrat, said the committee was “rushing to provide favors to this industry” while ignoring other taxpayer needs.

Doggett also criticized the industry’s political ties, saying the push for crypto tax breaks came from “the strongest lobbyists and the biggest political action committees.”

Senate Rejection of CLARITY Act Shifts Focus

The House committee vote came just one day after a major setback in the Senate. The CLARITY Act, which would have set up a federal regulatory framework for digital assets, failed to advance in a 49-50 cloture vote on Tuesday.

The bill needed 60 votes to move to the Senate floor for debate. Senator Cynthia Lummis, a lead sponsor, blamed Democrats for the bill’s failure, saying they kept moving the goalposts despite her team meeting their demands.

With the CLARITY Act stalled, both the SEC and CFTC said they would move ahead on crypto regulation using the authority they already have.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins posted on X: “With or without legislation, we will act decisively within the SEC’s statutory authority to deliver certainty for American investors.”

CFTC Chair Michael Selig also confirmed his agency was ready to move, saying: “The CFTC is locked in and ready to ship its rules for the new frontier of finance.”

The Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act now heads to the full House of Representatives for consideration. Time is short, with only around five weeks of congressional work scheduled before the new session begins in January.