CLARITY Act Fails in Senate Amid Ethics Concerns

The CLARITY Act, a bipartisan proposal aimed at restructuring the US crypto market, has stalled in the Senate due to an ethics fight. The bill fell short of the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed, forcing its sponsors to decide whether another round of negotiations is possible.

Several Democrats who had spent months working on the legislation opposed it, including Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, Mark Warner, Cory Booker, Raphael Warnock, Ruben Gallego, Angela Alsobrooks, and Catherine Cortez Masto. Their defections followed an unsuccessful attempt to close remaining differences over ethics rules shortly before the vote.

The setback came despite a major rewrite released over the weekend that incorporated 126 substantive changes Democrats sought. President Donald Trump agreed to tougher restrictions on crypto-related financial interests held by senior officials, but these concessions were still not enough.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin said she opposed the bill because its restrictions on crypto interests held by Trump and his administration remained too weak. She argued that Congress should impose rules strong enough to prevent any future administration from using public office to benefit from crypto ventures.