Key Democratic lawmakers say crypto Clarity Act 'falls short' on ethics, other issues

Policy Key Democratic lawmakers say crypto Clarity Act 'falls short' on ethics, other issues Several of the Democrats most likely to vote for the crypto market structure bill said they had issues with the new draft published by Republicans earlier in the day. By Nikhilesh De | Edited by Jesse Hamilton Jul 22, 2026, 10:22 p.m. 2 min read Make preferred on Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Make preferred on Senator Angela Alsobrooks (Finn Gomez/Getty Images) The newest draft of the crypto market structure bill "falls short" of where it needs to be on ethics and other provisions, a group of U.S. Senate Democrats said Wednesday. Senators Angela Alsobrooks, Cory Booker, Catherine Cortez Masto, Ruben Gallego, John Hickenlooper, Mark Warner and Raphael Warnock — a core group of negotiators that would likely be needed to advance the bill — said in a joint statement shared with CoinDesk that they would keep working with their Republican counterparts on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (Clarity Act) but that it needed more work on various outstanding issues, including how the bill addresses illicit finance and consumer protections. Alsobrooks and Gallego were the only lawmakers to vote for the Clarity Act in committee, while several others on the statement have expressed support for the bill in the past. "The Republican-proposed text of the CLARITY Act as it currently stands falls short," the statement said. "Key provisions including those addressing ethics for elected officials, consumer protection, illicit finance, conflicts of interest and market integrity must be strengthened." Senate Republicans published a new draft of the Clarity Act earlier Wednesday, including an ethics provision that the White House and President Donald Trump agreed to. The ethics provision has been an outstanding issue for over a year, stretching back to the Senate's work on the stablecoin-focused Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act last year, but the issue took on a renewed focus in recent weeks after Trump shared his latest financial disclosure showing he made over $1.4 billion from his crypto ventures in 2025. It's unclear when the bill may hit the Senate floor, though Republican Majority Leader John Thune's office told CoinDesk that he's still planning on moving forward in the coming days. The Senate leaves town after August 7 for the summer recess, and the Senate has other issues to take up as well. It will need 60 votes to advance, meaning as many as 10 Democrats may need to vote for the bill. "We have been working in good faith with our Republican colleagues for the past year and will continue doing so to get this over the finish line," the Democratic lawmakers said. Clarity Act Latest Crypto News 1 Tesla holds bitcoin treasury steady, reports $112M impairment loss 1 hour ago 2 New draft of Clarity Act is out, and it would impose limits on Trump's crypto empire 6 hours ago 3 Revolut hits $115 billion valuation in employee share sale: WSJ 6 hours ago 4 SEC's Peirce warns some DeFi vaults, onchain lending may fall under securities laws 6 hours ago 5 UK digital bond plans hinge on one missing piece: onchain cash 6 hours ago 6 Crypto Long & Short: The crypto question isn't what to own — it's what you can survive holding 7 hours ago 7 U.S. seeks forfeiture of $25 million in crypto tied to romance and investment scams 8 hours ago 8 Forget Nvidia: The next big AI trade could be crypto and blockchain 8 hours ago 9 Kalshi rolls out Midterm Hubs ahead of the November elections in the U.S. 10 hours ago 10 Midnight token rebounds 19% after Wanchain bridge hack, Hoskinson calls for ZK revamp 10 hours ago Latest Research Crypto Flows, Share and the Selective Rotation Crypto Flows, Share and the Selective Rotation Markets repositioned since June, but Binance held share (~55% user funds, ~24% spot) and drew net inflows in early July while the tracked market saw outflows. By CoinDesk Research 7 hours ago Markets repositioned since June, but Binance held share (~55% user funds, ~24% spot) and drew net inflows in early July while the tracked market saw outflows. Why it matters : Markets repositioned since June, but Binance held share (~55% user funds, ~24% spot) and drew net inflows in early July while the tracked market saw outflows. View Full Report More From Policy New draft of Clarity Act is out, and it would impose limits on Trump's crypto empire SEC's Peirce warns some DeFi vaults, onchain lending may fall under securities laws U.S. seeks forfeiture of $25 million in crypto tied to romance and investment scams