The crypto industry faced a devastating loss following the Senate vote failure on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. But it quickly scored two minor wins at Washington. The CLARITY Act req
The crypto industry faced a devastating loss following the Senate vote failure on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. But it quickly scored two minor wins at Washington.
The CLARITY Act required 60 votes to advance, but it could secure only 50 votes. 49 senators voted against it.
Related: Coinbase CEO says crypto can’t wait on Congress after CLARITY vote fails
However, a day after the upset, the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee passed the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act with bipartisan support on Sep. 16.
PASSED: The Ways and Means Committee just passed the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act — a historic step toward establishing a clear tax framework for digital assets.Through strong bipartisan collaboration, Republicans and Democrats came together to modernize outdated tax rules… pic.twitter.com/g5aUK7TVNL
— Ways and Means Committee (@WaysandMeansGOP) September 16, 2026
The House Ways and Means Committee is the chief tax-writing committee of the House of Representatives.
The committee said Republicans and Democrats came together to modernize outdated tax rules that have failed to keep pace as digital assets become part of everyday life for millions of Americans. The move puts crypto assets on a level playing field with traditional financial assets, it added.
The Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act, which covers stablecoins, mining and staking, lending, transaction fees, and other crypto-related activity, advanced in a 38-5 vote.
Here is how the bill addresses key tax norms related to crypto assets.
First, it would establish special tax treatment for certain stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar and lending agreements, extend wash-sale rules to popular crypto assets, and bring new rules for crypto mining and staking income.
Second, it would establish a de minimis exemption for certain crypto transaction fees of $10 or less. It would let American taxpayers avoid counting gains or losses when crypto is used to pay transaction fees.
The bill now moves to the full House of Representatives for consideration.
The same day, the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services passed the American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026 (H.R. 8957) in a 28-21 vote.
The bill would create a strategic Bitcoin reserve and a digital asset stockpile, in line with President Donald Trump's promise to the crypto industry. On March 6 last year, Trump signed an executive order to create the two types of crypto reserves.
The reserve should be created entirely with Bitcoin forfeited through criminal or civil asset seizure proceedings, rather than acquired via the open market.
As per the onchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence, the U.S. government holds 324,527 Bitcoin worth $24.72 billion as of Sep. 17.
U.S. government holdings, Source: Arkham IntelligenceThe American Reserve Modernization Act would mandate all federal agencies to report complete details of crypto assets held or controlled by the U.S. government and maintain transparency norms, including quarterly proof of reserve reports and third-party audits.
It would also include a study of budget-neutral ways to acquire more Bitcoin for the reserve. It would also uphold Bitcoin self-custody rights.
The bill needs to pass the full House and Senate to reach the president's desk for enactment into law.
Related: Ripple CEO sends bold message on Bessent’s CLARITY call
