The House Ways and Means Committee convened a full legislative hearing on digital asset taxation on June 9, 2026, taking up seven draft bills that together represent one of the most extensive congressional efforts to rewrite how the U.S. tax code treats crypto.

The session, chaired by Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), drew testimony from Coinbase and the NYU Law Tax Center.

While Republican members pushed for speed, Democratic reservations about specific provisions made clear that passage before Congress adjourns later this year is anything but guaranteed.

For developers and exchanges in India, Nigeria, and Kenya, that uncertainty is itself a policy outcome.

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What the Bills Would Actually Do

The seven discussion drafts each target a discrete problem in current tax law. One bill, sponsored by Rep. Rudy Yakym, would eliminate gain-and-loss tracking for network transaction fees and for stablecoins that comply with the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin regulatory legislation currently under congressional consideration.

A separate bill from Rep. Mike Carey would formally classify mining and staking rewards as ordinary income while giving miners and stakers the option to treat earned tokens as self-created property, deferring tax recognition to a later point.

Rep. Jodey Arrington's bill would close the wash-sale loophole and extend constructive-sale rules to crypto. The existing gap lets holders sell at a loss for a tax benefit and immediately repurchase the same asset. Stock investors cannot do this.

The Democratic side of the aisle contributed its own proposal: the End Digital Assets Tax Shelter Act, which targets the use of Puerto Rico source-income rules to shelter large crypto gains from federal tax by high-earning holders.

One bill from Rep. Aaron Bean would create a one-time reduced-penalty disclosure window for people who underreported crypto income in prior years.

Smith framed the urgency in stark terms. "If Americans want to pay with a stablecoin instead of a credit card or cash, they should be able to without a pile of tax paperwork," he said in his opening statement. He added that America needs "clear tax rules of the road to remain the digital asset capital of the world."

The committee cited figures showing roughly 67 million Americans hold cryptocurrency, with about 25% of those holders earning under $75,000 annually. A separate figure from committee materials indicated 31% of crypto owners want to use crypto for everyday purchases but are deterred by per-transaction reporting requirements.

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The Sticking Points

Not everyone in the room was ready to move quickly. Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-MA) expressed qualified support. "I'm aligned with that goal... eventually," he said. "There's healthy skepticism on both sides."

The sharpest critique came from Mike Kaercher of the NYU Law Tax Center, who testified that the mining and staking deferral provision carries a structural flaw. "Despite some thoughtful guardrails in the bill, it may be possible for taxpayers to permanently escape tax by earning rewards through certain business structures," he said. That warning hands skeptical members a concrete technical basis on which to scrutinize the provision during any future markup.

Lawrence Zlatkin, Coinbase's VP of Tax, made the case for clarity from a compliance standpoint. "Clear tax rules generally improve compliance, while uncertainty increases costs and pushes economic activity elsewhere," he said, drawing on his background as a former GE tax executive.

He also argued that market structure and tax policy move together, a point relevant as Congress works in parallel on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act alongside these tax measures.

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Why This Matters Far Beyond Washington

The U.S. debate is unfolding alongside a rapidly hardening global compliance architecture. As of January 2026, the OECD's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework covers 48 jurisdictions and requires automatic cross-border exchange of transaction data between tax authorities.

South Africa went live under CARF on March 1, 2026, making it the first African country to require all registered crypto service providers to report to its revenue authority.

Analysts note that Nigerian and Kenyan regulators are watching U.S. legislative signals closely, as both countries have recently formalized their own digital asset frameworks. Ethiopia has also emerged as a significant Bitcoin mining hub, giving the mining income classification provisions in these bills direct relevance across the region.

India illustrates what unresolved tax friction actually costs. New Delhi held its 30% flat tax on crypto gains and 1% Tax Deducted at Source unchanged in the 2026-27 budget, despite intense industry lobbying. The government also added a new penalty of 50,000 rupees (approximately $545) for failure to report crypto transactions under Section 509 of the Income Tax Act, effective April 1, 2026, compounding the compliance burden on retail holders.

Research from the Esya Centre found that more than 90% of Indian crypto trading volume migrated to offshore platforms in the 12 months following the TDS introduction, totaling over $42 billion. Esya Centre research estimates India's current tax design drives approximately $6.1 billion in capital offshore each year.

The U.S. stablecoin simplification provisions are particularly relevant for South Asian remittance corridors: India receives more than $125 billion annually in remittances, and emerging Web3 startups are building on stablecoin rails targeting that market.

If U.S. stablecoin transactions become easier to handle from a tax standpoint, those builders gain a cleaner compliance environment. If Congress stalls, they remain in limbo alongside their American peers.

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What Comes Next

These bills remain discussion drafts. As of the hearing date, no markup has been formally announced, and the legislative calendar for the remainder of 2026 is already crowded.

Alison Mangiero of the Crypto Council for Innovation, in a statement released ahead of the hearing, called the process "an important first step," while also arguing the de minimis exception should be broadened further.

That framing, an important first step, captures where things stand: movement on paper, with real-world passage still far from certain.