Trump agrees to ethics restrictions in crypto Clarity Act ahead of Senate vote

Senate Republicans have released a revised 635-page draft of the Clarity Act ahead of a critical September 15, 2026 procedural vote. To win over skeptical Democrats, President Donald Trump agreed to unprecedented ethics restrictions, including a requirement to divest or place significant crypto holdings in a blind trust and allowing state attorneys general to enforce the rules. Despite these concessions, Democratic support remains uncertain, and the banking industry continues to oppose the bill over stablecoin deposit flight risks.

CLARITY Act Senate vote

• ▪The Clarity Act would establish a regulatory framework for digital commodities, giving the Commodity Futures Trading Commission primary regulatory authority while assigning specified roles to the Securities and Exchange Commission
• ▪The September 15, 2026 Senate vote is a cloture motion on the motion to proceed, requiring 60 votes to end debate and allow the Senate to consider the Clarity Act
• ▪U.S. Senate Republicans released a revised 635-page draft of the Clarity Act on September 14, 2026, ahead of a critical procedural vote scheduled for September 15, 2026

Trump ethics restrictions agreement

• ▪A senior Republican Senate aide stated that President Donald Trump agreed to approximately 80% of the ethics proposal put forward by Senators Thom Tillis and Ruben Gallego
• ▪President Donald Trump reported making over $1.4 billion from cryptocurrency ventures last year, including more than $500 million in revenue from the World Liberty Financial venture
• ▪President Donald Trump agreed to support new ethics restrictions in the Clarity Act, which would apply conflict-of-interest rules to himself, other federally elected officials, federal judges, and their spouses
• ▪The revised Clarity Act draft requires federal officials with significant cryptocurrency holdings to either divest those holdings or place them into a blind trust
• ▪President Donald Trump agreed to allow state attorneys general to enforce the Clarity Act's ethics provisions, conceding to a key demand from Senate Democrats

Democratic support uncertainty

• ▪Senator Angela Alsobrooks stated she would not vote for any cryptocurrency legislation that does not include ethics provisions, emphasizing the necessity of state attorneys general having prosecution powers
• ▪Senator Chris Van Hollen publicly opposed the Clarity Act, posting on social media that the bill has significant unresolved problems and masquerades as consumer protection
• ▪It remains uncertain whether the revised Clarity Act draft has secured the 60 votes needed to pass the September 15, 2026 procedural vote, as no key Democrats have publicly endorsed the new text

Banking industry opposition

• ▪The Independent Community Bankers of America and seven other banking associations stated in a joint letter that the proposed stablecoin deposit-flight circuit breaker is insufficient because it only activates after substantial deposit flight has occurred
• ▪The banking industry continues to oppose the Clarity Act, expressing concerns that the legislation could destabilize the banking system by creating competition for deposits

Stablecoin deposit safeguards

• ▪The revised Clarity Act draft introduces stricter limits on vertical integration, including rules on affiliate trading and potential conflicts of interest at digital commodity exchanges
• ▪The revised Clarity Act draft includes a stablecoin circuit-breaker mechanism that directs the Treasury Secretary to restrict rewards on stablecoins if substantial deposit flight from community banks occurs

Developer liability protections

• ▪The revised Clarity Act draft amends the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act to shield software developers, miners, and validators from money transmission registration requirements
• ▪The developer protections in the revised Clarity Act draft were added to address opposition from Senators Chris Murphy, Chris Van Hollen, and Jeff Merkley, who demanded tighter developer liability language

Debatable claims

• ▪The Clarity Act should shield cryptocurrency software developers from money transmission registration
• ▪State attorneys general should be empowered to enforce the Clarity Act's ethics rules
• ▪The Clarity Act's stablecoin circuit breaker is insufficient to protect community banks