Crypto Bill Mired in Debate Over Rules to Stop President From Selling Coins

NEW YORK TIMES ·

A sweeping cryptocurrency bill is approaching a final vote in the Senate this summer, with support from Republicans and some Democrats — and backed by an industry that has spent tens of millions of dollars to shape it. But lately a major sticking point has emerged: the $1.4 billion in crypto revenue that President Trump disclosed in June, after a year of astonishing moneymaking by his family’s network of crypto businesses. Now as the landmark legislation, known as the Clarity Act, inches toward passage, Senate Democrats are pushing for strict language in the bill that would bar public officials from selling digital currencies. On Wednesday, Republican senators released a new draft of the bill that contained a version of those restrictions, including language making it illegal for the president and other U.S. officials to issue or sponsor a cryptocurrency. Democrats and progressive advocacy groups immediately fired back , arguing that the draft did not go far enough to stop Mr. Trump from using crypto to enrich himself. With the midterm elections approaching, the debate is threatening to engulf the Clarity Act, showing how Mr. Trump’s crypto dealings have rippled through Washington. The ethics issue has “become the linchpin of whether this gets bipartisan support,” said Cody Carbone, the chief executive of the Digital Chamber, a crypto trade group. “Democrats have made this the most important issue for them.” Passage of the Clarity Act is a top priority for the crypto industry. Under the Biden administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission pursued an aggressive enforcement campaign against crypto firms, filing lawsuits that argued that digital coins should be regulated like stocks and bonds. The Trump administration reversed course and dropped almost all of those suits. Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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