The White House is sending senior officials to Capitol Hill to hash out the one sticking point that keeps threatening to derail the most significant crypto legislation in US history: whether politicians should be allowed to profit from the very digital assets they’re regulating.
The meeting centers on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, better known as the CLARITY Act, which would establish clear federal regulatory lanes for crypto assets. The bill cleared the Senate Banking Committee with a 15-9 vote on May 14 and landed on the Senate Legislative Calendar on June 1. But the clock is ticking, and Congress’s August recess is approaching fast.
The ethics problem that won’t go away
Democratic senators, including Elizabeth Warren and Chris Murphy, want enforceable restrictions baked into the bill. These provisions would prevent the president, vice president, members of Congress, senior officials, and their families from profiting off digital asset activities while serving in office.
Republicans counter that ethics rules don’t belong in what’s supposed to be a market structure bill.
