Republicans updated the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act on Wednesday to include a DOJ-enforced ban on federal officials issuing or sponsoring cryptocurrency
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Senate Republicans updated the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act on Wednesday to prohibit the president and other federal officials from issuing or sponsoring cryptocurrency and other digital assets. Violations could result in penalties reaching $250,000 daily, with the Department of Justice designated as the enforcement authority.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., the bill's lead sponsor, provided the updated bill text to CNBC. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, a supporter of the measure, said that President Donald Trump had signed off on the ethics section of the bill.
The White House said it had agreed to the ethics provision following a meeting with White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt, according to The Hill. "The administration is committed to working with Congress to see the CLARITY Act advance and has agreed to the most comprehensive and wide-ranging ethics provision in history," a White House official said in a statement to The Hill.
Democrats have long pushed for language restricting elected officials from profiting in the crypto industry, given Trump and his family's extensive digital asset ventures. Trump's disclosures showed approximately $1.2 billion in crypto-related earnings in his first year of returning to office, with around $580 million of that tied to World Liberty Financial — a firm launched by Trump family members that offers the WLFI governance token and the USD1 stablecoin.
The central remaining dispute is who will enforce the ethics ban. Democrats have pressed for state attorneys general to serve as enforcers, while Republicans and the White House are insisting on the DOJ, according to CoinDesk. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., said Wednesday the DOJ was not a credible enforcement authority. "Look at this Department of Justice," she told reporters at the Capitol. "They're completely unserious, first of all, and it's just stone crazy to rely on them for anything."
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he expects the Senate to consider the bill within weeks. "It'll get a vote, not sure when yet but in the next couple weeks," he told reporters Wednesday at the Capitol.
Even if the bill clears the 60-vote threshold required on the Senate floor, it would still need to return to the House for a further vote, with September the most likely window, according to CoinDesk.
The Clarity Act cleared the Senate Banking Committee in May on a 15-9 vote, the first time a broad legislative framework for the cryptocurrency industry had passed a congressional committee. Crypto firms including Coinbase and Ripple have backed the bill. Democrats who withheld their votes at the committee stage cited concerns about provisions governing how political officials can profit from digital assets and whether the bill does enough to block illicit financial transactions — the same fault lines that persist in Wednesday's negotiations.
Industry supporters are urging the Senate to act before August 7, the last day before summer recess, warning that missing that window would likely doom the legislation's chances ahead of the midterms.
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