A key milestone for U.S. crypto legislation is approaching, and Trump’s conflict-of-interest ethics clause is the biggest obstacle

Deep Tide TechFlow message: On July 17, according to The Block, the U.S. “Clarity Act” crypto legislation push has entered a critical stage. Representative William Timmons said, “It will definitely get done; it’s one of the president’s priorities, and it’s also bipartisan consensus.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune hopes to complete a Senate vote before the August 7 recess, but even if the Senate passes the bill, it would still need to return to the House for review, and the overall timeline could extend into the coming months.

At present, the biggest point of contention is the ethical provisions that would limit how federal officials—including the president, vice president, and members of Congress—can benefit from digital assets while in office. Trump, Republican Senators Bernie Moreno and Cynthia Lummis, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles held a meeting on the ethical provisions Thursday afternoon to seek Trump’s endorsement. Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego said that if the ethical provisions do not meet the standard, Democrats will not vote to support the bill.

Summer Mersinger, CEO of the Blockchain Association, said she is cautiously optimistic about the bill’s prospects, but warned that if amendments related to prediction markets were included, they would become a “poison pill” and should be handled through separate legislation.