Congress quietly gives crypto traders the same tax breaks as Wall Street
H.R. 9176 — PAR Act · Filed by David Kustoff (R-TN) · Introduced Jun 8, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill amends the tax code to create a consistent set of rules for trading digital assets (cryptocurrencies and similar blockchain-based tokens). It allows traders and dealers to use mark-to-market accounting for digital assets the same way they do for stocks and commodities, lets certain digital asset traders claim they are not engaged in a U.S. trade or business for tax purposes, and defines key terms like 'traded digital asset' and 'widely traded digital asset' for tax purposes. The bill benefits cryptocurrency traders and dealers by giving them tax treatment parity with traditional securities traders and creating a safe harbor from U.S. taxation for certain trading activity.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is to extend favorable tax treatment (mark-to-market accounting, trading safe harbors, and non-U.S. business status claims) to digital asset traders and dealers. While framed as 'clarification' and 'analogous rules,' the bill creates new tax advantages for a specific asset class and its traders.
What the text implies
- Section 4's safe harbor allows digital asset traders to claim they are not engaged in a U.S. trade or business even when trading for their own account through U.S. brokers, potentially allowing them to avoid U.S. taxation on trading gains.
- The 'widely traded digital asset' definition (>$500M market cap, <10% ownership concentration) creates a moving target that may exclude smaller cryptocurrencies but includes major ones like Bitcoin and Ethereum, concentrating benefits among holders of established digital assets.
- Section 3's mark-to-market election allows dealers to defer gains/losses across a 4-year period, creating timing advantages unavailable to ordinary investors and reducing near-term tax revenue.
- The bill's cross-reference to the GENIUS Act (a separate, not-yet-enacted bill) for stablecoin definitions creates regulatory uncertainty and ties this bill's operation to future legislation that may not pass.
- Section 6's 'no inference' language explicitly disclaims any position on whether digital assets are securities or commodities, leaving regulatory classification ambiguous and potentially allowing traders to avoid SEC/CFTC oversight while claiming tax benefits.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill primarily benefits cryptocurrency traders and dealers through tax deferral mechanisms and safe harbors that reduce their tax obligations, while ordinary citizens receive no offsetting public benefit. The safe harbor in Section 4 allows traders to claim they are not engaged in a U.S. trade or business, potentially reducing tax revenue without corresponding public investment or protection.
Who stands to gain
- cryptocurrency traders and dealers
- digital asset exchanges
- cryptocurrency hedge funds
- stablecoin issuers (permitted under GENIUS Act)
- crypto-native financial services firms
Named in the bill
Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Secretary of the Treasury, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) — referenced implicitly, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) — referenced implicitly, GENIUS Act (referenced for stablecoin definitions), Bitcoin, Ethereum (examples of widely traded digital assets)
Where it stands
- Jun 8, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jun 8, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
6 lobbying clients named this bill on 6 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $6,200,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 13 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 82% of bills with at least one filing.
David Kustoff, the sponsor, reported $1,066,250 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- American Bankers Association — $3,510,000 on 1 filing
- Coinbase, Inc. — $1,160,000 on 1 filing
- Solana Policy Institute — $610,000 on 1 filing
- Blockchain Association — $320,000 on 1 filing
- Crypto Council for Innovation — $310,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (16,104 characters) on Aug 14, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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