This negotiation over the government’s conflict of interest had delayed progress on the Clarity Act for months, now potentially beyond the window in which it could more easily become law in 2026. This week’s release of Clarity’s final working draft included the first openly circulated ethics language, to which Democrats are now responding, many of them with disdain.
“Donald Trump raised more than $1.4 billion from cryptocurrency investments, and this bill doesn’t stop him from absorbing his next $1.4 billion in crypto profits,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat and her party’s ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee, referring to the crypto profits Trump unveiled for 2025. She said the president will “simply ignore the law” as proposed.
So what does language do? Temporarily prohibits senior government officials (including the president, vice president, members of Congress, and federal judges) from issuing or sponsoring cryptocurrencies.
However, it excuses activity in the past, and there are many crypto business activities that do not meet issuance or sponsorship requirements, so it is unlikely that Trump will be forced to abandon some of his most prominent ties, such as his stake in World Liberty Financial. You may have to create some legal distance for yourself, such as placing certain investments in trusts that you can’t directly access.
