Leading U.S. crypto advocacy groups have united to support the Tax Clarity for Mining and Staking Act, a bill that would allow digital asset miners and staking reward recipients to defer taxation on new cryptocurrency assets. According to reports from CoinDesk, the industry letter dated Sunday was addressed to the Republican chairman and senior Democrat of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee's tax panel. The legislation, proposed by Republican Representative Mike Carey, would give miners the option to postpone taxable treatment until they sell their assets, rather than treating them as immediate income. As crypto policy debates intensify in Washington, the industry's main trade groups are pressing lawmakers to move the House tax bill covering mining and staking rewards.
The crypto-political infrastructure behind the push has reached unprecedented scale, with 1,200 mainstream tech companies now supporting the CLARITY Act through the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). As reported by CoinDesk, CTA President and CEO Kinsey Fabrizio sent the letter on June 17 to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Minority Leader Charles Schumer, stating the group "strongly supports the CLARITY Act and respectfully urges the Senate to bring the legislation to the floor and pass it without delay." The CTA represents major technology companies including Amazon, Apple, Google, Intel, LG Electronics, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony and Verizon, bringing mainstream consumer electronics sector support to the crypto advocacy effort. This coalition adds significant political weight to the crypto lobbying effort, as these companies host much of the crypto industry's compute and storage infrastructure and control mobile app distribution layers critical to wallet developers. The CTA's intervention adds mainstream tech to the coalition, with the group's letter sitting alongside market-structure legislation, while the H.R. 9175 tax letter sits with tax-treatment legislation, both targeting the same calendar window before the August recess.
Three of the largest U.S. crypto advocacy organizations have formally urged Congress to pass legislation that would allow digital asset miners and stakers to defer taxation on newly created tokens until those assets are sold. According to AMBCrypto, the Blockchain Association, Crypto Council for Innovation and The Digital Chamber voiced support for H.R. 9175, the Tax Clarity for Mining and Staking Act, and called on lawmakers to approve the bill as introduced. The groups described the proposal as a "balanced compromise" that would address years of uncertainty surrounding the taxation of mining and staking rewards while preserving eventual income recognition. The legislation would establish a new framework for taxing newly minted digital assets received through mining and staking activities, with the current IRS guidance treating miners and stakers as having taxable income when rewards are received. Under the proposed bill, taxpayers would have an alternative approach that defers income recognition until the assets are sold or disposed of, addressing concerns about tax liabilities before conversion to cash. The Blockchain Association, Crypto Council for Innovation, and The Digital Chamber made the request in a June 21 letter to committee leaders Jason Smith and Richard Neal, stating the bill should pass "as introduced" because it would give miners and stakers clearer tax rules.
The bill has faced significant opposition from banking and tax critics, particularly regarding a proposed five-year cap on reward tax deferral. According to reports from crypto.news, Rep. Steven Horsford filed an amendment that would limit reward tax deferral to five years, prompting strong opposition from crypto advocacy groups. Crypto Council for Innovation CEO Ji Hun Kim opposed the change in a post on X, stating it would "break" the bill and raise "negligible revenue." The joint letter made similar arguments, warning that a five-year limit would add recordkeeping costs and force taxpayers to track time-based recognition events across wallets and accounts. The groups argued that the amendment would bring back the problems the bill seeks to fix. The American Bankers Association has opposed the measure, arguing that the bill would treat crypto rewards differently from dividends, bank interest, and other returns that taxpayers report each year. The banking group said the proposal would show "clear favoritism" for crypto over other asset classes, and warned that delayed taxation could help crypto rewards compound in ways common savings products cannot.
The crypto groups pointed to existing IRS guidance as a source of uncertainty for network validators, referencing IRS Notice 2014-21 which treats mined Bitcoin as taxable income upon receipt and Revenue Ruling 2023-14 stating that staking rewards are immediately taxable when received. As reported by AMBCrypto, taxing rewards at the time they are created can create liquidity pressures, force asset sales to meet tax obligations, and result in what they describe as "phantom income" concerns. The groups also argued that the bill would reduce compliance burdens for taxpayers and the IRS by creating a clearer framework for reporting and enforcement. The CLARITY Act also includes provisions related to investment trusts engaged in digital asset staking, stating that a trust would not lose its tax status solely because it stakes digital assets held on behalf of investors, provided it is not actively engaged in the business of validating transactions. The letter also said proof-of-work and proof-of-stake networks secure more than $1.7 trillion in value, with the groups arguing that clearer rules would help ensure these networks "can be secured by Americans in America."
While the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act remains the industry's top priority for establishing a full U.S. regulatory regime for crypto activity, taxation has become the second focus area. According to CoinDesk, tax issues were a central topic at a June 9 committee hearing that reviewed several crypto-related bills, including Carey's proposal. The tax bill emerged as the industry's second major lobbying priority, alongside the broader Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which is still under debate in the U.S. Senate. Industry groups reject that characterization, saying the bill does not allow unlimited deferral and still requires income recognition while avoiding taxation before assets can be monetized. The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act remains the industry's top priority for establishing a full U.S. regulatory regime for crypto activity, with the CLARITY Act letter sitting with market-structure legislation; the H.R. 9175 letter sitting with tax-treatment legislation, both targeting the same calendar window before the August recess. The cloture math the CLARITY Act faces in the Senate has not changed in response to industry letters - Republicans hold 53 seats, leaving the bill roughly seven Democratic votes short even with full Republican unity.
