Bill changes how the U.S. taxes cryptocurrencies and staking.
S. 5616 — ADAPT Act · Filed by Steve Daines (R-MT) · 3 cosponsors · Introduced Sep 30, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
The ADAPT Act rewrites federal tax rules for digital assets. It covers cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and tokens. People can trade stablecoins for goods without paying capital gains tax. The stablecoin must be on a government list. Professional traders can choose mark-to-market accounting. Small transaction fees under $10 are not taxed as capital gains. The bill clarifies tax rules for mining and staking income.
Who it affects
Crypto traders and staking platforms gain major tax breaks. People who hold cryptocurrencies get clearer tax rules. They must report more details to the IRS. Tax-exempt groups like nonprofits and universities can earn staking income tax-free.
One thing to notice
The U.S. Treasury decides which stablecoins get tax benefits. It keeps an official list of qualified stablecoins. U.S. crypto companies can move staking work overseas and still get tax breaks.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
3 cosponsors: 3 Republicans.
- Sep 30, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Sep 30, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Finance · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- stablecoin — A cryptocurrency designed to keep the same value, usually tied to the U.S. dollar.
- mark-to-market accounting — A tax method where traders report gains based on daily price changes, not just when they sell.
- staking — Holding cryptocurrency in a network to help verify transactions and earn rewards.
- capital gains tax — A tax on money earned when you sell an asset for more than you paid for it.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (50,094 characters) on Oct 13, 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.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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