Bloomberg: Trump’s crypto earnings are the biggest obstacle to the Clarity Act

PANews July 25, according to Bloomberg, roughly $1.4 billion in revenue Trump has earned through crypto business has become the biggest obstacle to the passage of the Clarity Act. This week, Senate Republicans released a draft aimed at breaking months of deadlock, but Democrats and consumer rights organizations immediately criticized its moral clauses as not strong enough—failing to stop Trump and his family from continuing to profit from the crypto business. Trump needs at least seven Democratic senators to support the bill in order to pass it, and Maryland Democratic Sen. Angela Alsobrooks said the moral clauses are “critical.”

The controversy centers on three areas: the bill gives the Department of Justice sole enforcement authority (excluding supervision by state attorneys general), whether the moral restrictions cover Trump’s indirect shareholding, and the fact that the bill does not bind officials’ children, as well as the clause that automatically expires on January 20, 2029. Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said they are studying compromise options, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune believes it is unlikely the bill can pass before the Senate recess in August. In addition, the banking industry is also opposed to the stablecoin yield provisions, worrying about deposit outflows. Polymarket shows the probability of the Clarity Act passing this year has fallen to about one-third.