Three crypto industry groups have asked Congress to pass the Staking, Mining, and Proof-of-Work Tax Fairness Act without revisions.
The groups—the Blockchain Association, Digital Asset Standards Association, and Crypto Council for Innovation—argue the bill addresses a longstanding tax friction in the industry. Under current IRS interpretation, staking and mining rewards are treated as ordinary income at fair market value the moment they're earned, triggering an immediate tax event even if the asset hasn't been sold. The proposed bill would defer that recognition until the asset is actually disposed of.
The lobby push arrives as the bill has gained bipartisan interest in Congress. The groups signal they view the current legislative window as fragile and worry that amendments could fracture the coalition that has backed the measure. Their letter suggests they see passage of the unchanged bill as preferable to a revised version that might satisfy some lawmakers but alienate others.
What makes the deferral consequential: miners and stakers currently face a cash flow problem. They earn crypto rewards but owe taxes on those rewards in dollars, often before they've sold the asset to raise cash. This mismatch has driven some operations offshore or reduced participation in smaller staking pools. If the bill passes as written, taxpayers could hold rewards without triggering a tax bill until sale, aligning the tax event with actual liquidity.
The IRS has not formally weighed in on whether it would accept this treatment, leaving enforcement risk in the background. The lobby groups are banking on legislative action to establish the rule before the tax authority hardens its interpretation through guidance or audit activity.
No vote date has been set, and it remains unclear whether the bill will advance in the current session. The ask from the three groups is direct: pass it now, unchanged, before political momentum shifts.