US Senate Crypto Market-Structure Bill Hits Snag Ahead of Revised Text as Democrats Object to Ethics Rules

The U.S. Senate is due to release a revised version of the Clarity Act, a cryptocurrency market-structure bill, on July 16, but it has yet to lock in support from Senate Democrats.

Politico reported on July 16 that Democrats are opposing the measure, arguing it lacks sufficiently strong ethics provisions related to President Donald Trump. Several Democratic senators said they would not support the version of the bill that could be released later in the day.

Republican Senator Bernie Moreno said he planned to unveil the revised bill after meeting with Trump. “We’ll do that right after the meeting,” Moreno said. “You’ll have a lot to read.”

Negotiations over the Clarity Act have stretched on for nearly a year. Ethics provisions dealing with potential conflicts of interest tied to Trump’s cryptocurrency businesses remain the main sticking point. Democrats’ backing is needed for the bill to pass the Senate, making an agreement on that issue essential.

Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego, who has participated in the talks, said Republicans were taking to the president a bill containing their own ethics language rather than terms Democrats had agreed to.

Without strong ethics provisions, there will be no Democratic votes regardless of what the president says, Gallego added.

Gallego called the ethics language he has seen so far “very weak,” saying it leaves wide room for the president to continue pursuing profit and is not favorable to consumer protection.

Moreno, by contrast, said the bill includes the strongest ethics provisions of any legislation ever passed by Congress.

Democratic Senator Cory Booker said negotiations were still continuing over sections related to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. “I hope they don’t release something before negotiations are finished,” Booker said. “The only way to get this done is through a bipartisan path.”

Republicans are aiming for a vote before Congress begins its August recess. If the revised bill set for release on July 16 fails to win Democratic support, the timetable for the Clarity Act could become uncertain again.