Senators Want Hearings on Trump's $1.4B Crypto Bag Before CLARITY Act Drops 💼

Five Senate Democrats are asking their committees to hold hearings on President Donald Trump's crypto holdings, citing national security and conflict-of-interest concerns tied to roughly $1.4 billion in 2025 earnings from digital asset ventures. Ranking members Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Gary Peters (D-MI), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) — the top Democrats on Banking, Investigations, Homeland Security, Judiciary and Finance — issued the joint request on Friday, pointing to Trump's financial disclosures showing more than $635 million tied to his Trump meme coin and more than $588 million from token sales connected to the family's World Liberty Financial platform. The disclosures also showed Trump holds tens of millions of dollars worth of $BTC and $ETH. The senators said the reports "heighten concerns about the President pushing Congress to pass crypto legislation in favor of the very industry he's cashing in on" and called for scrutiny of "the influence of the [United Arab Emirates] or unknown third parties on President Trump's actions," noting that UAE royals purchased a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial last year.

The hearings request lands as the Senate prepares to vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, with a final draft expected as soon as next week and Majority Leader John Thune pledging a floor vote before the chamber's state work period begins Aug. 10. The bill would need 60 votes to advance, requiring at least seven Democrats to join Republicans, who hold a slim majority in the chamber. Senator Cynthia Lummis is among the Republicans pushing for passage, while House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill said Trump's industry ties made the process "more complicated." On Monday, Warren sent a separate letter urging leadership to bar the president, vice president, senior administration officials, members of Congress and their families from profiting off the crypto sector, writing that "anything less would be a flagrant giveaway to the president and his family at the expense of the public."

Opposition to the bill is widening. Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) held a Tuesday press conference alongside Americans for Financial Reform, Indivisible and actor Ben McKenzie to argue the legislation fails to address what they called "Trump's crypto corruption." Murphy said "this bill is worthless if it protects Trump's dominance over an industry that he will have more control to regulate." The CLARITY Act cleared the Senate Banking Committee in May after two Democrats broke ranks to advance it, with both warning an ethics deal was still needed for floor support.

Industry supporters say the bill would legalize most crypto activity in the United States and bring clearer oversight to digital asset markets. Critics counter that it would create carveouts in financial regulations dating to the Great Depression and weaken enforcement, pointing to the administration's reported moves to exempt cryptocurrencies and service providers from existing rules and to disband the Department of Justice's National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team. The bill has drawn backing from two law enforcement organizations, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, which said it would help address digital asset-related crime.

Separately, a bipartisan housing bill containing a provision barring the Federal Reserve from issuing or creating a central bank digital currency until Dec. 31, 2030, is set to become law on Saturday. Trump canceled a signing ceremony and did not issue a veto, leaving the measure to take effect automatically after the 10-day window. Most lawmakers and industry stakeholders agree the CLARITY Act must pass before Congress's August recess or risk being delayed by the November midterm elections, leaving negotiators roughly four weeks to resolve outstanding ethics and language disputes.