President Donald Trump has agreed to unprecedented personal ethics concessions, including conflict-of-interest restrictions and state-level enforcement, to advance the Clarity Act ahead of a critical Senate procedural vote. The compromise addresses Trump's substantial digital asset holdings, which generated over $1.4 billion last year. While the crypto industry has spent hundreds of millions lobbying for the bill, it remains uncertain if these concessions will secure the Democratic votes needed for passage.
Senate cryptocurrency bill vote
- ▪The upcoming Senate vote on the Clarity Act is considered a watershed moment for the $2.3 trillion digital assets market, potentially cementing crypto legitimacy into law
- ▪The U.S. Senate scheduled a pivotal procedural vote on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, on the Clarity Act, a sweeping cryptocurrency regulation bill
Trump ethics concessions
- ▪A senior Republican aide stated that President Donald Trump agreed to approximately 80% of the ethics compromise proposed by Senator Thom Tillis and Senator Ruben Gallego
- ▪President Donald Trump agreed to a significant portion of a stringent ethics proposal embedded within the Clarity Act ahead of the scheduled Senate vote
State attorney general enforcement
- ▪Democratic lawmakers, including Maryland Senator Angela Alsobrooks, demanded state attorney general enforcement powers as a red line to ensure prosecution if the Justice Department refuses to act
- ▪President Donald Trump accepted language in the Clarity Act allowing state attorneys general to sue cryptocurrency exchanges that list digital assets barred by the bill
- ▪White House officials privately raised concerns that Democratic state lawyers could use the state attorney general enforcement provision as a political weapon against President Donald Trump
Conflict-of-interest restrictions
- ▪The updated Clarity Act text requires federally elected officials to either divest or place in a blind trust any significant financial interest in an entity issuing cryptocurrencies
- ▪The initial terms of the Clarity Act barred all federally elected officials, their spouses, and federal judges from issuing or sponsoring digital assets
- ▪President Donald Trump reported more than $500 million in revenue from World Liberty Financial and over $1.4 billion total from crypto businesses in his annual financial disclosure
Crypto industry lobbying power
- ▪The cryptocurrency industry has spent hundreds of millions of dollars campaigning to advance the Clarity Act to establish a solid legal footing for digital asset companies
- ▪A stablecoin regulation measure enacted in 2025 barred members of Congress from profiting off stablecoins but did not extend those restrictions to the president or his family
Debatable claims
- ▪The Clarity Act should grant state attorneys general federal enforcement powers
- ▪The president should be legally required to divest from personal cryptocurrency holdings
- ▪The US Senate should pass the Clarity Act
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