Tillis Won’t Back Senate Crypto Bill Without Ethics Limits

Sen. Thom Tillis warned Monday he will oppose the Senate crypto market-structure bill unless it contains ethics language limiting how White House officials can use or promote digital assets. “There has to be ethics language in the bill before it leaves the Senate, or I’ll go from one of the people working on negotiating it to voting against it.”

Tillis is a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee and plans to retire early next year. He had been participating in talks on the measure, which would split oversight of crypto between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The House approved its version of the measure, the CLARITY Act, in July. Senate negotiators have delayed a final text while lawmakers and industry groups bargain over ethics provisions and rules on stablecoin yields and payments.

Democratic senators have pressed for strict ethics limits after raising concerns about crypto businesses tied to the president’s family. Sen. Ruben Gallego insisted, “There is no final bill — there is no final movement — unless there is a bipartisan agreement when it comes to the ethics provision.”

Sen. Adam Schiff noted that talks over the ethics language are advancing and that differences are narrowing as other parts of the bill come together. “We’re making progress,” he said, and he has previously urged a ban on federal employees sponsoring, endorsing or issuing digital assets, including the president.

Negotiators have not settled on final language for the ethics measures. Senators from both parties continue to debate the provision’s scope and enforcement, along with outstanding issues such as definitions of digital assets, the allocation of authority between the SEC and CFTC, and rules for stablecoin platforms and intermediaries.

Until those items and the ethics provision are resolved and written into the Senate text, there is no final bill to advance to a vote and no announced schedule for completing the measure.