Trump vows to ‘future-proof’ crypto with CLARITY Act

President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday that he intends to codify a ‘future-proof digital asset market structure’ by pushing the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act into law and pledged to “never let crypto down.” The bill has stalled in the Senate amid ethics concerns tied to his family’s crypto links.

The CLARITY Act passed the House in July 2025. Senate committees advanced versions after markups in January and May, but the measure must clear additional procedural steps before a full Senate vote.

Republicans hold a slim Senate majority and will need some Democratic votes to pass the bill. Several senators have demanded stronger ethics provisions before they will support the legislation.

Lawmakers’ ethics concerns focus on relatives’ business ties, which include memecoin projects, a platform called World Liberty Financial and its USD1 stablecoin, and a Bitcoin mining company. Donald Trump Jr.’s advisory roles with prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket have also drawn regulatory scrutiny.

Michael Selig, the president’s nominee to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, has asserted the CFTC has “exclusive jurisdiction” over certain prediction markets. State regulators have sued prediction-market operators alleging unlicensed wagers; the CFTC has filed countersuits asserting its authority. Those cases could determine which federal agency regulates different digital-asset activities.

Markets moved after the president’s post. Bitcoin fell from above $74,000 to below $73,000 in the hours following the message and was trading at $73,467 at the time of publication.

Paul Atkins, the president’s pick to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission, has indicated the agency would work to protect existing rules from reversal. Andrew Forson, president of DeFi Technologies, noted a future SEC chair would face difficulty fully reversing established policies, though rules could be made more burdensome for market participants.

Senators must reconcile committee versions of the bill, consider ethics amendments requested by some Democrats and find time on a crowded Senate calendar. The timeline for a floor vote remains uncertain.