Republican Senator Steve Daines of Montana has released a proposal to update the U.S. tax code for digital assets, publishing the text of the Aligning Digital Assets with Principles of Taxation Act, or ADAPT Act.
The bill was released on Wednesday by Daines and is sponsored with Senators Lummis, Moreno, and Tim Scott. It aims to draft tax rules for assets including stablecoins.
According to Bitcoin Magazine, lawmakers and regulators have been moving quickly to write digital asset rules since U.S. President Trump took office on a pro-crypto platform. The Clarity Act collapsed in the Senate last month. One day later, the House Ways and Means Committee overwhelmingly approved legislation that would revamp the tax treatment of cryptocurrency.
Daines wrote on X: 「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.」
Tax relief for everyday stablecoin use
The proposal says everyday users of stablecoins would get tax relief for routine spending. Using a qualifying dollar stablecoin to buy goods or services would not trigger a gain or loss, and brokers would not have to report those transactions.
To qualify, the stablecoin must be issued under the GENIUS Act framework, appear on a quarterly Treasury list of coins that have held within 3% of $1.00, and have been purchased by the user within 3% of $1.00.
Small crypto network fees would be exempt
The bill separately proposes that network fees, or gas fees, paid in crypto would count as tax-free dispositions as long as the fees tied to a given transaction total $10 or less. The text also includes anti-structuring rules.
Wash sale rules would extend to crypto
The ADAPT Act would apply wash sale rules to crypto for the first time. Those rules prevent investors from claiming a tax loss if they sell an asset and buy it back within 30 days.
Stock investors have long been subject to that restriction, while crypto traders have been able to sell at a loss and immediately repurchase. Under the bill, the rules would apply to traded digital assets other than qualified stablecoins.
Assets bought before the bill becomes law would be grandfathered. Staking rewards, mining rewards, and regular recurring purchases would also be exempt.
Tokenized stocks and next steps
The proposal also says tokenized versions of stocks would count as substantially identical to the underlying shares.
The ADAPT Act now heads to committee. It would need committee approval before it could move to a vote by the full Senate.
This report first appeared in Bitcoin Magazine and was written by Mathew Di Salvo.