Trump Agrees to Crypto Ethics Rules, But Bill's Fate Still Uncertain
President Donald Trump agreed to new ethics rules as part of a cryptocurrency bill being written in the Senate. The move aims to bring the digital assets industry into the mainstream, but its fate hangs in the balance.
The $2.3 trillion market is waiting for a pivotal Senate vote on Tuesday. If passed, it could cement crypto legitimacy into law. However, if the bill fails, the frustrated and deep-pocketed industry might unleash even more campaign cash in the midterm elections.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., the lead author of the crypto bill, emphasized that a vote against the Clarity Act isn't a principled stand against President Trump but rather a vote against implementing tough restrictions on politicians for crypto investments.
The president has amassed significant amounts of crypto wealth while in office. To get key Democrats on board with the bill, Lummis and Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, went to the White House for a meeting in mid-July. They presented language that would bar all federally elected officials and their spouses from issuing digital assets.
Trump agreed to this measure, but it wasn't enough to satisfy some senators. Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., then proposed an additional provision that would require the president to put his crypto holdings in a blind trust and divest when those holdings reach a certain value.
The updated bill includes language allowing state attorneys general to play a meaningful role in enforcing the crypto measure should it become law. This provision had been a red line for Democrats, who argued that they wouldn't be able to trust a Trump-appointed attorney general to enforce any conflict-of-interest provision against the president.