Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (Clarity Act) Merged Drafts

A new draft of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act merges the drafts from the Senate Banking Committee and the Senate Agriculture Committee into a single bill. The measure involves figures from both parties, with proponents such as Senator Cynthia Lummis and participants in the White House and crypto industry shaping its focus on clearer regulation of digital assets. With the Senate scheduled to leave town in two weeks, the window for passage is tightening.

The draft Digital Asset Market Clarity Act includes an ethics provision that would bar senior government officials from sponsoring or issuing their own cryptocurrencies. Proponents including Senator Cynthia Lummis argue the provision applies to a range of government officials and federal judges. White House adviser Patrick Witt and many crypto industry participants say this is the most sweeping ethics provision any U.S. president has ever agreed to.

For former President Donald Trump, the provision would give him a year to divest or place his businesses into a blind trust. The Department of Justice would enforce the provision. The provision sunsets when the next president is inaugurated. The draft would bar future administrations from retroactively going after Trump under the provision. Trump could continue benefiting from tokens with his name on them that already exist.

The ethics provision is contained in the merged draft of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. Bipartisan agreement on a key provision has not yet been reached.

Proponents including Senator Cynthia Lummis support the ethics provision included in the draft Digital Asset Market Clarity Act and say the provision would set clear limits on senior officials sponsoring or issuing their own cryptocurrencies. White House adviser Patrick Witt and many crypto industry participants describe the provision as the most sweeping ethics measure any U.S. president has ever agreed to. Supporters also argue the provision applies broadly to a range of government officials and federal judges.

Democrats want a more binding ethics provision that could affect former President Donald Trump and the $1.4 billion he made from crypto last year. Republicans oppose the Democrats’ push for a stronger, more binding rule. Bipartisan agreement on a key provision has not yet been reached.

Proponents and critics therefore remain in disagreement over the scope and enforceability of the ethics language in the merged draft. The draft’s political divisions have left the provision unresolved in the bill text.

The draft Digital Asset Market Clarity Act merges the committee versions into a single bill and adds an ethics provision that would bar senior government officials from sponsoring or issuing their own cryptocurrencies. Lawmakers from both parties remain divided over that provision, and the Senate faces a narrowing window to act before it adjourns, leaving bipartisan challenges and the bill’s final terms unresolved. At present, the legislation’s passage timeline and the scope of the ethics language have not been finalized.