Senate's CLARITY Act draft bans Trump from crypto—clock starts ticking at noon, 2029 ⏰

A 616-page draft of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act circulating on Capitol Hill would bar the president, vice president, members of Congress, federal judges and their spouses from issuing or sponsoring digital assets, with the ethics provision set to sunset at noon on January 20, 2029, according to text posted by Punchbowl News. Enforcement would rest with the U.S. Department of Justice rather than state attorneys general, a sticking point that Senate Democrats have flagged as unresolved. The restrictions would require covered officials to divest their crypto holdings or place them in a blind trust, or both, but the language does not extend to the children of public officials.

Bipartisan negotiators met on Capitol Hill on July 21 to narrow remaining disagreements, with ethics rules described as the primary hurdle and DeFi provisions also under discussion. A spokesperson for Senator Cynthia Lummis said last week's White House meeting "went well" and that "the ethics text set to release in the coming days will reflect that productive conversation." A White House official told crypto industry insiders that President Donald Trump had agreed to "the most comprehensive and wide-ranging ethics provision in history," though Democrats were not yet shown the text on Wednesday and signaled continued concern over enforcement.

Progressive groups including Indivisible and Demand Progress sent a letter to every Democratic Senate office criticizing Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's role in the talks, citing her crypto ties and her son's new crypto venture. Senator Elizabeth Warren has demanded the bill bar the president, vice president, senior officials, members of Congress and their families from profiting off the sector. Financial disclosures released last month showed Trump earned more than $1.2 billion from crypto businesses last year, figures Democrats have pointed to as evidence of conflicts of interest tied to his meme coin ventures and his family's company World Liberty Financial, in which his sons Don Jr. and Eric Trump are involved.

Digital Chamber CEO Cody Carbone said, "Today's draft is a meaningful step toward the Senate vote on the Clarity Act we've been calling for," adding that the group "will provide our members' feedback on how the bill may still be improved as it moves forward." The latest text preserves the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, which creates a safe harbor for non-custodial software developers by clarifying they are not "money transmitters," a measure the industry considers a red line following Trump-era DOJ prosecutions of developers behind privacy tools. Senators have also been continuing talks on customer protection, and negotiators are considering additional provisions for decentralized finance.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune had previously indicated the bill could reach the floor as soon as the beginning of next week, with August 7 seen as a major deadline for finishing the legislation before the Senate's summer recess. The bill would need at least 10 Democrats to reach the 60-vote threshold required for passage, and the temporary nature of the ethics ban, along with DOJ-only enforcement and the exemption for the president's children, is expected to draw further Democratic objections as the draft heads toward a potential floor vote.