Crypto Industry Groups Urge Congress to Pass Staking, Mining Tax Bill Unchanged
Some of the biggest names in crypto advocacy are putting pressure on Washington to get a long-awaited tax fix across the finish line, and they want it untouched.
In a letter sent over the weekend to House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith and ranking Democrat Richard Neal, the Blockchain Association, the Crypto Council for Innovation, and The Digital Chamber called the crypto staking tax bill “essential” for the industry’s future in the U.S. The legislation in question, the Tax Clarity for Mining and Staking Act, aims to settle a years-long fight over how block rewards from mining and staking should be taxed.
Right now, the tax code treats staking and mining rewards as taxable income the moment they’re created, even before a single token is sold. Critics say that’s created a messy, often punishing situation for everyday crypto users and validators alike. The new bill would flip that around, deferring taxes until the assets are actually sold, while also giving taxpayers the option to elect taxation at the time of receipt if they prefer.
The Digital Chamber’s CEO, Cody Carbone, didn’t hold back on why this matters, saying the current code simply fails to reflect how miners and stakers actually generate and use their assets, and that the bill protects American competitiveness while locking in a deal already negotiated in good faith.
This all comes after a House Ways and Means hearing earlier this month, where lawmakers debated this and several other crypto-related tax proposals. The bill hasn’t cleared committee yet, and tax legislation has a habit of getting reshaped as it moves through Congress, something the advocacy groups are clearly trying to head off.
Not everyone is cheering, though. The American Bankers Association blasted the bill, arguing it unfairly favors crypto over other asset classes and could pull deposits away from traditional banks. The Crypto Council for Innovation fired back, insisting the ABA is mischaracterizing how staking rewards actually work compared to bank interest.
For now, the message from the industry coalition is blunt: don’t touch the crypto staking tax bill. As the letter put it, reopening the compromise risks unraveling progress that took years to build and could stall a bipartisan win that’s finally within reach.
