Clarity Act Stalls Amid Ethics Disputes, Likely to Fail in Senate Next Week
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at regulating the crypto market structure, is likely to fail in the Senate next week due to disagreements over ethics rules covering President Trump and his family. According to Semafor, Republican senators Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina expressed doubts about the bill's passage. Rounds said the bill 'does not look good right now,' while Tillis stated that if there is no interest in bridging the gap on ethics language from the White House, it will fail.
The conflict-of-interest provision sought by Democrats would bar public officials and their spouses, including Trump, from issuing or sponsoring digital assets for payment. However, the White House has agreed to a comprehensive and wide-ranging ethics provision, according to a spokesperson. The bill's fate will be determined on September 15, when cloture is invoked, requiring 60 votes to proceed.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming assigned blame to Democrats for not joining Republicans in embracing the bipartisan bill, which she believes would protect consumers and cement America's leadership in digital assets.