Trump Weighs Bipartisan Counteroffer as CLARITY Act Deadline Looms
The CLARITY Act, aimed at providing a federal rulebook for crypto firms by dividing oversight between the SEC and CFTC, is on hold as President Donald Trump weighs a bipartisan ethics counteroffer. The bill's progress has been described as reaching 'the one yard line' by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.
The counteroffer from Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona would let state attorneys general enforce a ban on federal officials issuing or sponsoring digital tokens, addressing concerns raised by Senate Democrats about the earlier version of the bill. This move is seen as a compromise after five major loopholes emerged in the draft, including giving the Department of Justice exclusive enforcement authority while blocking state attorneys general and private parties from suing over violations.
Senate Democrats had flagged these gaps, pointing to Trump's crypto ventures as the reason they wanted oversight independent of the executive branch's own Justice Department. A tax disclosure found Trump accrued at least $1.4 billion in 2025 crypto income, led by $635 million in TRUMP memecoin royalties and $515 million from World Liberty Financial token sales.
The CLARITY Act has already cleared one chamber of Congress, with the House passing its version on July 17. The Senate needs to secure 60 votes for the bill before it goes into recess on August 7.