Stablecoins Face Tax “Uncertainty” in the U.S. Despite Regulatory Progress: KPMG
As the U.S. accelerates its push to regulate the digital asset market, a critical "definition gap" in the tax code is creating reporting headaches for the private sector. Despite major legislative efforts like the CLARITY Act and GENIUS Act, stablecoins remain in a state of tax limbo, lacking a legal definition that reflects their role as a medium of exchange. Speaking in an interview with Ecoinimist, Jamison Sites, a principal at KPMG, warned that until the tax code is modernized, the friction between digital reality and legacy regulation will continue to burden businesses and stifle adoption. Stablecoin Payments Create Reporting Headaches The lack of a stablecoin-specific definition creates complications in everyday transactions, particularly for businesses accepting digital dollars as payment, Sites said. From a tax perspective, stablecoins are not automatically treated as cash. This means users may need to track cost basis and recognize gains or losses even on small transactions. Sites described the current situation as an “information reporting, backup withholding, kind of uncertainty nightmare,” especially for companies handling large volumes of micropayments. Under existing rules, merchants receiving digital assets may also face reporting obligations tied to anti-money-laundering and tax disclosure thresholds. These requirements were originally designed for physical cash transactions but were later extended to digital assets, creating challenges in decentralized environments. Record-Keeping Still Critical Until lawmakers or regulators introduce clearer definitions, Sites said taxpayers must rely on careful documentation. He stressed the importance of tracking exact values at the time of receipt, even for assets intended to remain close to one dollar. “You received a dollar of stablecoin but… it may have been trading at 0.999 cents. And that’s your basis, not a dollar,” he said. That requirement could become particularly burdensome for businesses processing millions of stablecoin payments daily, since each transaction may require its own tax calculation. Banks, Stablecoins, and the Deposit Question Beyond tax definitions, the interview also touched on broader policy debates around stablecoins and the banking system. Sites highlighted that unclear regulatory guidance will likely inhibit the large-scale adoption of fully reserved stablecoins. Because banks rely on deposits to support lending, a major shift could reduce credit availability across the economy. “If that were to happen, banks would have to pull back a lot of loans… so you do risk market contraction,” he said. At the same time, he noted that many banks seem less interested in issuing stablecoins themselves and are instead exploring tokenized deposits, which could preserve traditional banking structures while adopting blockchain-based payment rails. Tax Rules Likely to Follow Market Structure While major crypto bills are advancing, Sites suggested that tax legislation will likely arrive later as a “necessary follow-up” to address unintended consequences. Until then, the industry remains in a transitional phase: stablecoins are gaining clearer regulatory status, but their tax treatment still depends on rules written for a pre-crypto financial system. This article was originally posted on Ecoinimist.com.
The #Aleo Network Foundation and #Provable Labs have officially launched Shield Wallet, a self-custodial interface designed to serve as the primary gateway for private finance on the Aleo blockchain. This release arrives as stablecoins increasingly transition from speculative trading tools into practical instruments for payroll, cross-border payments, and corporate treasury. By integrating directly with Aleo’s zero-knowledge infrastructure, the wallet aims to solve the transparency dilemma that has historically hindered institutional adoption of public blockchains, where sensitive financial data is typically visible to anyone with an internet connection. Built with a private-by-default architecture, Shield Wallet utilizes zero-knowledge cryptography to obscure nearly every detail of a transaction, including account balances, transfer amounts, counterparties, and even network fees. This level of confidentiality is intended to mirror the privacy found in traditional banking while maintaining the decentralized benefits of blockchain technology. For businesses, this means the ability to settle invoices or distribute salaries without exposing trade secrets or employee data to the public. #Stablecoins #CryptoNews