Trump Agrees to Ethics Provision, Clearing Path for Clarity Act Crypto Bill

An industry source told The Block on Monday evening that an agreement had been reached on the ethics language after extended discussions. The ethics provision was a key issue in negotiations between the White House and lawmakers and had been considered the final hurdle to advancing the Clarity Act.

Ethics Deal Reached After Months of Negotiations

The ethics provision was discussed during a July 16 meeting involving President Trump, Republican Senators Bernie Moreno and Cynthia Lummis, and White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt. No agreement was reached at that meeting, but the measure received the president’s sign-off later on Monday, according to the source.

The ethics language is designed to limit how presidents, vice presidents, members of Congress, and other federal officials can profit from digital assets while in office. Debate around these safeguards intensified after financial disclosures released last month showed Trump received millions of dollars related to his family’s company, World Liberty Financial, and his involvement with memecoins.

Ahead of last week’s meeting, Politico had reported that an ethics provision provided to the president had not been agreed to by some Democrats, underscoring the partisan sensitivity of the issue.

Clarity Act Timeline and Legislative Process

The Clarity Act would, for the first time, comprehensively regulate the digital asset industry at the federal level. Under the bill, the Securities and Exchange Commission would receive jurisdiction over certain aspects of the sector, with broader authority granted to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Bill text is expected to be released in the coming days, with one source suggesting it could have arrived as early as Monday night, although it might be pushed back. The same source indicated that a longer wait for the text could increase the likelihood of the bill being bipartisan.

Once text is released, the full Senate could vote on the Clarity Act. The Senate has until the first week of August to act on the bill. If passed by the Senate, the legislation would return to the House before being sent to Trump’s desk.

White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt has been leading the administration’s efforts on the bill. Witt had originally planned to leave his post this week due to mandatory training for the Georgia Army National Guard, but announced on X on Monday that his training had been postponed. Meanwhile, his deputy director, Harry Jung, said on X that he would leave his role in two weeks, noting that serving in the administration and working for David Sacks in the White House Crypto Council had been “a great honor” and expressing pride in what had been accomplished over the past two years.