CLARITY Bill Stalls Over Ethics Provisions

The U.S. Senate's CLARITY crypto market-structure bill has hit a roadblock as Democrats and Republicans clash over ethics provisions. A revised proposal from Republicans includes measures to bar senior officials, including President Trump and Vice President Pence, from receiving compensation while in office and issuing or sponsoring digital assets.

However, key Democrats are still opposed, citing concerns that the measures do not go far enough. Seven Democratic senators, including Elizabeth Warren, have expressed their opposition, arguing that ethics rules and safeguards against illicit finance and conflicts of interest are insufficient.

The White House has pushed back on the Democratic stance, with Patrick Witt, the senior adviser on cryptocurrency, saying that the key remaining issues are whether to give state attorneys general authority to enforce the ethics provisions and whether to include Trump's past crypto business in the scope of regulation.