President Donald Trump is pushing ahead with new cryptocurrency legislation after his family’s crypto ventures reportedly generated a $1 billion windfall.
On Wednesday, Trump joined several leading executives from crypto-related platforms at a White House event to lobby for legislation that could lend greater legitimacy to the growing industry.
The new push comes just weeks after Trump made a similar call, urging the Senate to advance the legislation in honor of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham.
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On Wednesday, top executives from companies such as Coinbase and Ripple joined Trump for an event at the White House, where they celebrated the steps the administration has taken to ease industry restrictions since the Biden administration took office.
During the meeting, Trump made a special call for the Senate to pass the Clarity Act, another major crypto bill he hopes to enact following the Genius Act last year.
“We need Congress to take the next step by passing the Clarity Act, the fair version of the Clarity Act,” said the president.
“It’s very, very powerful structured legislation which will keep us ahead of China, keep us ahead of everyone else and will open the door to the next wave of innovations and innovators,” Trump also noted.
What Trump’s Clarity Act Would Actually Do
The bill before the Senate describes the Clarity Act as legislation designed to establish a regulatory framework for “the offer and sale of digital commodities by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.”
Both the SEC and CFTC are U.S. financial regulators, but they generally oversee different types of markets and assets. With crypto in a regulatory gray area, the bill, if passed into law, would define which digital assets and activities fall under each regulatory body.
The bill also includes provisions aimed at preventing cryptocurrency platforms from being used for money laundering.
“To amend the Federal Reserve Act to prohibit the Federal Reserve Banks from offering certain products or services directly to an individual, to prohibit the use of central bank digital currency for monetary policy, and for other purposes,” it reads.
Democrats Raise Concerns Over Trump’s Crypto Bill
4Also included in the bill are ethics rules that would prevent senior federal officials from creating or sponsoring digital assets while in office.
This would mean that Trump and first lady Melania Trump, who launched their own meme coins around his inauguration, would be unable to do something similar while serving in office. It would also bring scrutiny to Trump’s crypto assets, which reportedly garnered more than $1 billion in 2025 alone.
However, because the bill gives the attorney general sole authority to enforce these ethics rules, some Democrats have pushed back against its passage.
They argue that the attorney general, who is appointed by the president, could refuse to investigate the president and his allies even in instances when they default.
Democrats Seek Stronger Oversight Of Trump’s Crypto Bill
4Opposing the possibility of the ethics rules being sidestepped, lawmakers Sens. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) and Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona) drafted a counterproposal and sent it to the White House.
The proposal would involve state attorneys general in enforcing the Clarity Act’s ethics provisions.
It remains unclear whether a formal response has been sent from the White House, as Tillis told reporters before the August recess that he had yet to receive one. In the meantime, he intends to vote against the bill if the proposed changes are not adopted.
Trump Previously Pressed Senate To Advance Crypto Bill
4A decision on the bill is expected in September, when the Senate reconvenes. When that happens, Trump is hoping the Senate will vote in favor of the bill in honor of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died at 71 from a ruptured aorta in July.
“In honor of Senator Lindsey Graham, a big supporter, the U.S. Senate should pass the Clarity Act,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that same month.
He added, “China, and many other countries, would like to take complete and total control of this major financial ‘happening,’ as well as A.I., where we are now leading, but where they are fighting hard. Don’t let China win on either subject!!!”
