New Clarity Act emerges that's a start on the final draft, makes ethics rule temporary

A would-be final version of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is circulating as the U.S. Senate sets up for its last major effort to get the crypto industry's long-awaited market structure bill into law, and it finally includes a contentious section banning crypto conflicts for the president, though that may only be a temporary measure.

The final working draft of the Clarity Act has emerged days after talks with President Donald Trump had led to a deal on how Republicans would press the effort's biggest remaining hurdle: that section to limit the president and other senior government officials from direct crypto ties, which is currently set to conclude in 2029 and leaves the Department of Justice in the role of policing related ethics complaints, according to sources’ descriptions of the draft circulating on Wednesday.

But even as the crypto industry was shown details of the bill that will clock in at hundreds of pages, Democratic lawmakers hadn't yet seen the draft, the text of which was posted at Punchbowl News. The Senate is expected to need at least 10 Democrats to approve the final bill before it can become law, because of the chamber's requirement for 60 yes votes on most legislation, and many of them already didn't like what they were hearing on the ethics section.

The overall bill text is reflective of work in two relevant Senate committees — Banking and Agriculture — plus the addition of a lot of new language meant to ensure the safety of digital assets users and investors. Majority Leader John Thune, the Republican in charge of the Senate's agenda, intends to move forward with floor action in the coming days before summer recess, his office told CoinDesk on Wednesday, and the latest version includes dozens of pages of extra material meant to please Democrats.

“Today’s draft is a meaningful step toward the Senate vote on the Clarity Act we’ve been calling for,” said Digital Chamber CEO Cody Carbone in a statement. “We’re encouraged, and we’re ready to keep working until the bill reaches the president’s desk.”