Sen. Daines moves crypto tax overhaul with stablecoin relief and wash-sale rules

Buying a coffee with a stablecoin in the US can create a taxable event. Sen. Steve Daines wants to change that. The Montana Republican is pushing a digital asset tax reform bill meant to modernize how the Internal Revenue Code treats crypto. It pairs relief for everyday users with a crackdown on a favorite trader tactic. The draft runs 13 sections and circulated the week of September 23-25, 2026. Formal introduction was expected the following week. What’s in the Daines bill The headline provision covers stablecoins. The draft creates a new IRC §1034 providing nonrecognition of gains or losses on qualifying stablecoin payments at or near the $1 mark. Put simply, if you spend a dollar-pegged token that is still worth roughly a dollar, you would not need to log a fractional-cent gain or loss. That rule would apply to transactions after December 31, 2026. The second piece of relief targets network fees. Fees of $10 or less per transaction would get a de minimis exemption from gain or loss recognition. Then comes the part traders may like less. The bill extends wash-sale rules to most digital assets, with qualified stablecoins carved out. A wash sale works like this: you sell an asset a...