Trump urges Congress to pass Clarity Act crypto legislation at White House meeting

President Donald Trump hosted top cryptocurrency executives at the White House on August 19, 2026, urging Congress to pass a "fair version" of the Clarity Act to secure the U.S. technological edge over China. The push comes as the landmark market structure bill remains stalled in the Senate over ethics provisions, fueled by Trump's own $1.4 billion in crypto earnings in 2025 and his family's business ties to meeting attendees. Trump also revealed that CFTC Chair Michael Selig is working to legally onshore the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, triggering a surge in related crypto assets.

Trump White House crypto meeting

• ▪The White House meeting on August 19, 2026, was attended by CFTC Chair Michael Selig, SEC Chair Paul Atkins, White House advisor Patrick Witt, and executives from Coinbase, Ripple, Robinhood, Nasdaq, Kraken, and Gemini.
• ▪President Donald Trump hosted cryptocurrency and finance executives at the White House on August 19, 2026, to voice support for the industry and launch a new innovation advisory committee.

Clarity Act legislative push

• ▪The Clarity Act is expected to return to the Senate floor in September 2026, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune scheduling an initial procedural vote for September 15, 2026.
• ▪Supporters of the Clarity Act still need to secure approximately six Democratic votes in the Senate to reach the 60-vote threshold required to advance the legislation.
• ▪President Donald Trump called on Congress to pass a "fair version" of the Clarity Act, framing the market structure legislation as critical to keeping the United States ahead of China in technology.

CFTC Hyperliquid onshoring effort

• ▪Following President Donald Trump's remarks on August 19, 2026, the Hyperliquid HYPE token rose 19% and Nasdaq-listed Hyperliquid Strategies shares closed up 30.4%, while CME Group and Cboe Global Markets shares fell.
• ▪President Donald Trump stated that CFTC Chair Michael Selig is working to bring the geoblocked decentralized perpetual futures exchange Hyperliquid into the United States in a compliant and legal fashion.

Ethics provision negotiations

• ▪Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego stated on August 19, 2026, that negotiations over the Clarity Act have stalled because the White House has not accepted multiple offers regarding an ethics provision.
• ▪In July 2026, President Donald Trump agreed to an ethics provision blocking public officials and their spouses from issuing digital assets, but Democrats criticized the language because it excluded enforcement by state attorneys general.

Trump crypto conflicts of interest

• ▪President Donald Trump's financial disclosures revealed he earned $1.4 billion from cryptocurrency and memecoin-related ventures in 2025, representing his largest source of income.
• ▪Several executives attending the White House meeting, including Sergey Nazarov of Chainlink and Mike Belshe of BitGo, represent companies that are business partners of the Trump family's crypto startup, World Liberty Financial.

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