Trump agrees to crypto ethics provision, Senate vote looms
President Trump's agreement to ethics language removes the final legislative barrier to the Clarity Act, bringing the first comprehensive federal crypto regulatory framework to the brink of a Senate vote.
President Donald Trump has agreed to an ethics provision, removing the final obstacle to comprehensive US cryptocurrency legislation. "We are now hearing Trump has agreed to an ethics provision," an industry source said on Monday evening.
The agreement paves the way for the Clarity Act, which would establish the first overarching federal regulatory framework for digital assets. It formally assigns oversight jurisdiction to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. For market participants, the bill promises to resolve years of jurisdictional ambiguity that have complicated compliance strategies and clouded the sector's operational outlook.
The ethics provision targets the core of recent political friction: how federal officials profit from digital assets. Lawmakers and the White House have spent the past year negotiating rules to restrict financial benefits for presidents, vice presidents, members of Congress and other officials. The debate intensified last month when financial disclosures revealed Trump received millions of dollars tied to World Liberty Financial, his family's company, alongside his memecoin ventures.
Resolving this specific point is essential to unlocking Democratic support. Ahead of a meeting late last week, some Democrats had rejected an earlier version of the ethics text. As of Monday evening, Democratic lawmakers had not yet reviewed the new agreement.
Legislative text could be released as early as Monday night, though one source familiar with the matter noted it might be delayed slightly. A brief delay could actually improve the odds of securing bipartisan backing in the Senate. The upper chamber has a hard deadline of the first week of August to hold a vote. If passed, the bill must return to the House before reaching the president's desk.
The breakthrough follows a July 16 meeting between Trump, Republican Senators Bernie Moreno and Cynthia Lummis, and White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt. While that session did not yield an immediate deal, it set the stage for the president's eventual sign-off.
There are also personnel shifts within the White House Crypto Council. Witt, who has led the legislative push, postponed his mandatory training with the Georgia Army National Guard and will remain at his post for now. His deputy director, Harry Jung, is departing in two weeks. "Serving in POTUS administration and working for [David Sacks] in the [White House Crypto Council] has been a great honor," Jung said. "These past two years transformed America's position on crypto. I'm proud of all we accomplished."
