Tag: tax

The Digital Chamber Launches Compute Working Group 

by Mary Grace Cooney

New Digital Power Network initiative will bring industry expertise to federal policy discussions on compute markets and infrastructure. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — September 24, 2026 — The Digital Chamber (TDC), through its Digital Power Network (DPN), today announced the launch of a ComputeWorking Group to help shape policies affecting the supply, financing, and use of computing capacity. 

The group will bring together companies that build, power, finance, buy, sell, and operate compute capacity, connecting industry expertise directly with federal policy discussions around artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, energy, and data center infrastructure. 

The initiative builds on DPN’s leadership in Bitcoin mining and the deep operational experience its members have developed across energy-intensive digital infrastructure. As demand for compute accelerates, many of the same challenges around power, infrastructure, capital, and market design are increasingly converging. 

“Compute is quickly becoming one of the most valuable resources in the American economy, and the markets that finance and allocate it are still being built,” said Cody Carbone, CEO of The Digital Chamber. “Our members have spent years navigating complex challenges around power, capital, and infrastructure at scale. Our Compute Working Group brings that experience to Washington, so policymakers can get these markets right from the start and keep America at the forefront of the compute economy.” 

The group’s first project will inform TDC’s response to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s request for comment on compute derivatives, including computefutures. Participants will help explain how compute markets operate and assess how emerging financial products could support price discovery, manage risk, and facilitateinvestment. 

“Compute policy is already taking shape across financial markets, energy, and infrastructure,” said Zunera Mazhar, VP of Policy and Government Affairs at The Digital Chamber. “We’re focused on bringing the industry’s operational experience to these conversations, starting with derivatives and extending to the energy, infrastructure, procurement, and market standards that will shape how compute markets develop. This work gives policymakers practical insight into how these markets function and what is needed to support investment, innovation, and growth.” 

The working group will also explore:  

  • Compute markets and financial innovation: Policies that support transparent, liquid compute markets, including emerging derivatives, financing tools, and risk management products. 
  • Energy and infrastructure: Power availability, grid interconnection, data center development, and other infrastructure constraints affecting compute growth. 
  • Procurement and market access: Opportunities and barriers for companies seeking to provide compute capacity and services to the federal government. 
  • Standards and market integrity: Frameworks for measuring, verifying, and delivering compute services, including interoperability, performance standards, and emerging distributed compute models.  
  • Through this work, participating companies will help translate operational experience into recommendations for policymakers, bringing the perspectives of infrastructure developers, suppliers, and customers into decisions affecting the compute economy. 

About The Digital Chamber 

The Digital Chamber is a non-profit organization committed to promoting global blockchain adoption. We envision a fair and inclusive digital and financial ecosystem where everyone has the opportunity to participate. Access to digital assets is not merely a technological advancement but a fundamental human right, crucial for economic and social empowerment. Through targeted education, advocacy, and strategic collaborations with government and industry stakeholders, we drive innovation and shape policies that create a favorable environment for the blockchain technology ecosystem. 

The Digital Chamber’s umbrella includes: CryptoUK, Digital Power Network (DPN), TDC’s Digital State Network, and Treasury Council. 

Media Contact: Mary Grace Cooney, Mary_grace@digitalchamber.org; press@digitalchamber.org

From Policy Ask to Policy Win: FinCEN Recognizes Digital Identity for Customer Verification

by Mary Grace Cooney

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the federal banking agencies have issued new guidance confirming that banks and credit unions may use government-issued verifiable digital credentials—including state-issued mobile driver’s licenses—to verify customers under the Customer Identification Program Rule.

This is an important modernization of federal financial-crime compliance and a direct response to a regulatory clarification The Digital Chamber has repeatedly requested.

Why This Guidance Was Needed

Financial institutions increasingly serve customers through mobile applications and other digital channels, but identity-verification practices often remain rooted in physical documents. Customers may be asked to photograph and upload a driver’s license, transmit sensitive personal information, or rely on authentication methods that are vulnerable to forgery and identity theft.

Mobile driver’s licenses and other verifiable digital credentials offer a more secure alternative. They use cryptographic signatures, device binding, authentication factors, and other safeguards to help institutions determine whether a credential is authentic and belongs to the person presenting it.

Until now, however, regulatory uncertainty limited adoption. Financial institutions needed clear confirmation that these credentials could be used consistently with existing Bank Secrecy Act and Customer Identification Program obligations.

From an Ask to a Win

TDC made that clarification a specific policy priority.

In our comments on Bank Secrecy Act modernization, permitted payment stablecoin issuer requirements, and NIST’s mobile driver’s license implementation guidance, TDC urged regulators to recognize privacy-preserving digital identity and verifiable credentials as legitimate compliance tools.

In May, we publicly called on FinCEN to issue clear guidance explaining how financial institutions could use mobile driver’s licenses and other digital credentials to satisfy BSA and Customer Identification Program requirements. FinCEN has now answered that request.

The new FAQs confirm that an unexpired government-issued verifiable digital credential can qualify as “government-issued identification” under the documentary verification provisions of the Customer Identification Program Rule, provided it contains the required information and the institution has the technology, policies, and procedures necessary to use it.

The guidance also confirms that these credentials may be used when customers open accounts in person, remotely over the internet, or through another digital or virtual channel. In addition, electronic credentials issued by nongovernmental entities may also be used as a non-documentary verification method when the institution ensures an appropriate level of authentication.

Why It Matters

This guidance gives regulated institutions greater confidence to adopt stronger identity technology without waiting for Congress or regulators to rewrite the underlying rule.

Properly implemented, verifiable digital credentials can:

  • Make forged or altered identity documents easier to detect
  • Strengthen remote customer onboarding
  • Reduce dependence on easily copied physical documents
  • Prevent new fraud tactics made widely available by AI
  • Limit unnecessary collection and storage of sensitive information
  • Improve the customer experience while supporting effective compliance

The FAQs do not require institutions to accept digital credentials or create new supervisory expectations. Institutions must still form a reasonable belief that they know a customer’s true identity, address signs of fraud, and incorporate any credential into a compliant risk-based program.

That flexibility is a strength. It allows financial institutions to adopt better tools while preserving responsibility for effective identity verification.

This is how sustained policy engagement produces results: identify a barrier, develop a workable recommendation, place it consistently before the right agencies, and secure clear federal guidance.

TDC thanks FinCEN and the federal banking agencies for recognizing that modern technology can advance compliance, cybersecurity, innovation, and consumer privacy at the same time.

Read the new FinCEN FAQs

Decoding Digital Assets: Empowering Policymakers with Tax Facts 

by Simi Awe

Digital assets are transforming the global economy at lightning speed. Regulators and lawmakers are actively trying to understand these mechanics to establish tax rules of the road, most recently in market structure legislation awaiting the U.S. Senate’s consideration.  

To secure U.S. leadership in digital assets for generations to come, we must address the burdensome nature of the current tax code on companies and consumers, and find a path to tax parity with traditional assets. We must resolve technical ambiguities regarding the timing and sourcing of staking rewards and push back against disproportionate compliance burdens like reward bifurcation.  

Finally, we will ensure that new rules, such as de minimis exceptions, thoughtfully address real-world administrability concerns. By tackling these issues head-on during the upcoming markup and beyond, we will foster domestic capital formation and build a tax code that supports industry growth. 

Advancing Tax Clarity

TDC has worked with the House Ways and Means Committee throughout the current legislative effort to help understand the technology and what kind of tax framework makes sense for consumers and the industry. 

  • In May, we outlined key pillars for a digital asset tax framework in a letter to the committee and reinforced those priorities in a formal statement for the record for June’s hearing. We have also shared technical analysis with legislators on the digital asset taxation legislative package. 
  • Direct Advocacy: Beyond formal submissions, we met directly with the vast majority of Ways and Means offices to advocate for comprehensive, bipartisan solutions conducting over 70 meetings that span more than 50 hours of direct engagement. 
  • Educational Roundtables: We have hosted 7 educational roundtables as part of our ongoing series, providing staffers with the insights needed to navigate this evolving landscape and creating a safe space for deeper questions about the causes and effects of the current U.S. tax structure. 
  • Bicameral Focus: Alongside these House engagements, our advocacy and education efforts in the Senate remain highly active. 

Whether through one-on-one briefings, educational roundtables, or technical documents on high-impact issues like staking, TDC provides lawmakers with an open line to industry experts so they can understand the technology they regulate. Our commitment and engagement ensures that every policy maker can make sound decisions for their constituents and the industry. 

What’s Next  

With the House Ways and Means Committee expected to mark up a digital asset tax package this September, we must maintain engagement to replace ambiguity with statutory certainty to boost tax compliance, protect retail investors, and secure U.S. leadership.