Yeliz Akmaca 
A new crypto tax bill circulating in the US House of Representatives signals a potential shift in how digital assets are taxed. The 14-page draft, introduced by Representative Max Miller, focuses on stablecoin payments, digital asset lending, and the timing of taxation for staking and mining rewards. The proposal draws a clear line between everyday crypto use and investment activity.
Why it matters?
This bill could mark the first serious attempt to treat stablecoins as payment tools rather than speculative assets. If adopted, it may accelerate real-world crypto usage while reshaping investor behavior across staking and DeFi lending markets.
Stablecoin Payments Get A $200 De Minimis Exemption
The draft proposes a $200 tax exemption for regulated stablecoin payments used to purchase goods and services. The exemption does not apply to investment gains and is framed strictly as an administrative simplification. Lawmakers are still evaluating whether an annual aggregate cap should apply to prevent repeated use from eroding tax collection.
The Treasury Department would receive authority to introduce anti-abuse rules. These may target coordinated transactions, related-party arrangements, and recordkeeping requirements. Additional guidance could also clarify cost basis allocation and gain characterization when the exemption does not apply.
Clear Tax Treatment For Digital Asset Lending
Another key section addresses digital asset lending. The bill extends nonrecognition treatment only to true lending of liquid and fungible digital assets. Lenders must retain the right to receive identical property back, ensuring the transaction does not function as a sale or disposal.
The framework explicitly excludes NFTs, illiquid tokens, thinly traded assets, tokenized securities, and synthetic or derivative-based instruments. Treasury guidance would aim to prevent disguised sales, basis shifting, and other tax avoidance structures within DeFi lending models.
Staking And Mining Rewards May Qualify For Tax Deferral
The proposal defines staking and mining as transaction validation activities on a cryptographically secured shared ledger. Taxpayers could elect to defer income recognition on rewards until the end of the fifth taxable year following receipt.
This approach reduces immediate tax pressure on long-term network participants. It also differentiates infrastructure contributors from short-term speculative actors, potentially influencing on-chain participation trends.
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