Senate CLARITY Act Faces New Threat Over Trump's Crypto Gains
The CLARITY Act is facing new opposition in the Senate over concerns that it would allow former President Trump to continue profiting from his cryptocurrency ventures. The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee minority staff released a new analysis on July 30, which claims that the proposed ethics provision would preserve Trump's existing business arrangements.
The analysis examines Trump's reported crypto revenue streams individually, including World Liberty Financial, the $TRUMP memecoin, cryptocurrency investments, staking income, and other ventures. It concludes that each would remain permissible under the current ethics language, arguing that the revised provision would leave those financial arrangements largely unaffected.
The Senate minority staff argues that qualified blind trusts would preserve the financial value of directly held interests while separating formal management responsibilities. However, they also point out that intermediaries, licensing agreements, third-party issuers, and family-affiliated entities could direct proceeds toward Trump without making him the formal issuer or sponsor.