CoinDesk
Rep. Steven Horsford, the Nevada Democrat co-author of the bipartisan PARITY Act, told CoinDesk's Consensus Miami conference Tuesday that crypto tax policy should advance through narrow, durable reform rather than a single comprehensive overhaul. He framed the legislation as a "durable floor, not the last word," and conceded that parallel Senate negotiations on the CLARITY Act between Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks appear to be "on hold."
PARITY, drafted with Republican Rep. Max Miller of Ohio in December and revised March 26, would write three retail-facing provisions into the tax code: a stablecoin-payments cost-basis test, a five-year tax-deferral election on staking and mining rewards, and an extension of wash-sale rules to digital assets. Horsford told moderator Professor Yesha Yadav he deliberately favors the narrow approach over comprehensive alternatives such as Sen. Cynthia Lummis's plan, arguing that broader bills risk "definitional language that is so broad that it creates other problems."
Why it matters
Horsford's pitch lands at a moment when the Senate's market-structure roadmap has visibly stalled, with the CLARITY Act still waiting on a Senate Banking Committee hearing that bank lobbyists are reportedly delaying. By narrowing the ask to a tax-only bill, the Nevada Democrat is reframing crypto legislation as something Congress can deliver in slices rather than as a single grand bargain — a politically cheaper vehicle heading into a midterm year where neither party wants to be seen blocking digital-asset reform.
The framing also doubles as a political hedge. Horsford cast crypto and digital-asset policy as a tool for "closing the wealth gap" and declared that "no one party should own crypto" — language designed to keep PARITY bipartisan even as election-year pressure mounts on both sides to claim credit for the issue.
Market impact
For investors, the most consequential clauses are the staking-and-mining deferral and the stablecoin-payments cost-basis test, both of which would meaningfully change after-tax returns on the most common retail crypto activities.
Frequently asked questions
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What is the PARITY Act?
The PARITY Act is a bipartisan discussion draft co-authored by Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) and Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) in December and revised March 26, focused narrowly on US crypto tax treatment rather than market structure.
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What would the PARITY Act actually change?
Its headline provisions include a stablecoin-payments cost-basis test, a five-year tax-deferral election on staking and mining rewards, and an extension of wash-sale rules to digital assets.
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Why does Horsford prefer a narrow tax bill to a comprehensive one?
Horsford argued broader bills risk "definitional language that is so broad that it creates other problems," preferring incremental reform that can be passed in slices rather than a single grand bargain.
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How does PARITY relate to the CLARITY Act?
PARITY handles crypto tax; CLARITY handles market structure. Horsford said parallel Senate negotiations on CLARITY between Sens. Tillis and Alsobrooks appear "on hold," which he framed as reason to advance the tax side first.
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Could PARITY pass before the November midterms?
Horsford declined to commit to a timeline, saying "it's less about a timeline and more about getting it right" — a signal the bill may slip past the current Congress if broader negotiations stay stalled.
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