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The US Senate is expected to vote soon on a comprehensive bill to establish market structure rules for digital assets, backed by Republican lawmakers, while some Democrats continue to push for ethics provisions.<\/p>\n
In a Tuesday press conference, Senators Chris Murphy, Jeff Merkley, and Chris Van Hollen spoke<\/a> alongside representatives for Americans for Financial Reform and Indivisible and Hollywood actor Ben McKenzie in opposition to the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act. The lawmakers said that the bill did not address what they called \u201c[Donald] Trump\u2019s crypto corruption,\u201d referring to the US President\u2019s ties to the industry through his memecoin, his family\u2019s World Liberty Financial company and other businesses and investments.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no reason to pass a new regulatory system for crypto if this system does not stop Trump\u2019s corruption of the entire industry,\u201d said Murphy. \u201cThis bill is worthless if it protects Trump\u2019s dominance over an industry that he will have more control to regulate. In fact, the bill is in and of itself a fundamental corruption if it gives Trump\u2019s corruption the protection of law.\u201d<\/p>\n Senator Chris Murphy (third from left) addressing the press on Tuesday with Senator Chris Van Hollen (left). Source: <\/em>Chris Murphy<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n The CLARITY Act has been under discussion in the US Senate since being passed by the House of Representatives almost a year ago this week as part of the Republicans\u2019 \u201cCrypto Week\u201d agenda, in which the GENIUS stablecoin bill was also signed into law. The bill needs to meet a 60-vote threshold to pass the Senate and return to the House, meaning that some Democrats will need to support the legislation with Republicans\u2019 slim majority in the chamber.<\/p>\n Related: <\/strong><\/em>ABA, state banking groups push back on CLARITY Act stablecoin yield provisions<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Van Hollen, Murphy and Merkley are not the only Senate Democrats saying they will not support the bill without a clear carveout for ethics following Trump disclosing that he earned $1.4 billion from his crypto ventures<\/a> in 2025. Senator Elizabeth Warren, an outspoken voice in the chamber against many crypto-related issues, has also called<\/a> for the legislation to address what she called \u201cbrazen financial corruption.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the pushback from many lawmakers, the CLARITY Act has the support of two law enforcement organizations. The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association have backed the crypto bill<\/a>, saying it would help address digital asset-related crime.<\/p>\n John Thune, majority leader in the US Senate,\u00a0pledged<\/a> to hold a vote on the crypto bill before the chamber breaks for a state work period on Aug. 10, according to Bloomberg. The exact timing of the vote was not available on the Senate calendar as of Tuesday.<\/p>\n The CLARITY Act already has support from Trump, who on Monday urged members of the Senate<\/a> to pass the bill \u201cin honor of\u201d Senator Lindsey Graham, who died over the weekend. The president said that the South Carolina lawmaker had been \u201ca big supporter\u201d of the legislation, but Graham did not appear to have made any public statements directly supporting CLARITY. <\/p>\n The senator\u2019s death left Republicans with a 52-47 majority in the chamber and, with Senator Mitch McConnell still hospitalized as of Tuesday, the party could only have 51 lawmakers present at the time of the potential vote.<\/p>\n Senator Cynthia Lummis, one of CLARITY\u2019s proponents in Congress, said<\/a> on Monday that lawmakers would release the text of the bill \u201cin the next few days.\u201d<\/p>\nSenate majority leader says vote will happen before August work period<\/h2>\n