Crypto Tax Grab!? Congress Wants A Bigger Cut | CoinLedger CEO INTERVIEW

The proposed digital-asset tax bill is described as raising $25.8 billion over 10 years, making it the largest digital-asset tax-reform item to date. David Kremmer stressed that none of the proposed changes would apply unless the proposal becomes law. Among the major changes, the bill would extend wash-sale rules to crypto and tokenized assets, and apply constructive-sale rules to digital assets treated as financial property.

Shane Kennedy said the proposed wash-sale rule could disallow a loss when someone sells an asset at a loss and buys it back within 46 days. If that rule spans wallets, Kremmer said, tracking purchases, sales, transfers, cost basis, and holding periods would become more important. Investors who want to retain underwater positions could consider harvesting losses and buying back before the rules become law, he said.

A proposed safe harbor would recognize no gain or loss on covered stablecoins that trade within 3% of the U.S. dollar. Kennedy said the Treasury secretary would publish the list of covered coins on the IRS website. Kremmer said stablecoin payments can otherwise generate thousands of disposals to report on Form 8949, so the safe harbor could reduce paperwork. Kennedy said active traders and people using stablecoins for payments could benefit, though Kremmer cautioned that reporting could still become more complex for people who fund much of their lives with stablecoins.

The proposal would also allow a mark-to-market election, under which gains would be taxed as they accrue rather than only when an asset is sold. Kennedy said large funds might elect this approach to pay tax as they go and manage cash flows. Other proposed provisions would recognize no gain or loss on certain digital-asset transaction and network fees of $10 or less, and exempt crypto charitable contributions from valuation requirements that apply to publicly traded securities.

Kennedy said proposed definitions for mining, staking, and other validation activities could reduce ambiguity, but Kremmer said the treatment of staking income remains unclear. If rewards are taxed when received, investors could owe tax before they have cash from selling the rewards to pay it. Kremmer also said the Lummis bill’s Bitcoin-spending threshold—described by the host as about $300—was necessary to prevent appreciated Bitcoin from becoming a way to avoid income tax.

Kremmer said CoinLedger tracks public wallet addresses and blockchain transactions, and that activity by AI agents across multiple wallets and chains adds records to track without creating a fundamentally harder software problem. Tax-tracking systems would still need updated rules engines if the proposal takes effect. He estimated rebuilding tax systems for new rules could take about 18 months, potentially leaving everyday taxpayers with a poor experience and greater reliance on private companies. More complexity could increase demand for tracking tools, which he called unfortunate for taxpayers but good for CoinLedger’s business.

On timing, Kennedy said he had not seen language making the ADAPT Act retroactive and understood it would apply prospectively to tax years after December 31, 2026, beginning in 2027, though he said he would double-check. The episode’s discussion emphasized that the timing and effect of the proposed changes remain conditional on the final law, while taxpayers’ reporting obligations could become more demanding if the rules are enacted.