The CLARITY Act returns to the Senate with a compromise that Republicans hope will be decisive. Donald Trump agreed to new ethical restrictions targeting public officials involved in crypto, while the final text incorporates 126 changes requested by Democrats. The project now has 635 pages. Cynthia Lummis, John Boozman and Tim Scott presented it on Sunday, before the procedural vote scheduled for Tuesday.
In brief
- Trump agreed to new ethics rules targeting public officials’ crypto interests.
- The final text includes 126 changes requested by the Democrats.
- Stablecoins, developers and state powers were also reworked before the vote.
Crypto: Trump accepts new limits on the interests of elected officials
This was one of the main sticking points. In August, Tremplin.io further detailed the conflict around Donald Trump’s crypto interests and Democratic demands to strengthen ethics rules. The new version goes further. Cynthia Lummis says Trump willingly accepted most of the Tillis-Gallego bipartisan compromise. The restrictions concern the president, the vice-president, federal elected officials, judges and their spouses.
The text notably prohibits certain covered persons from issuing or sponsoring digital assets, or from holding certain significant financial interests in these activities. When these holdings exceed the thresholds provided, they must be sold or placed in a qualified blind trust.
Another important concession: State attorneys general get a role in enforcing the rules. This point was part of the Democratic demands.
Civil penalties can be up to $500,000 or 20% of the amount received in a prohibited transaction, whichever is greater. The provisions would take effect 360 days after the law’s adoption, unless implementing regulations arrive sooner.
This is no longer the text presented at the beginning of the summer.
Lummis talks about 126 substantial changes requested by Democrats after more than a year of negotiations. However, the CLARITY Act had already left the banking commission in May by 15 votes to 9.
Stablecoins and developers also obtain a new compromise
Ethics is not the only part changed. The rewards paid on stablecoins had caused months of tension between banks and the crypto industry. Community establishments particularly fear that attractive yields will shift part of bank deposits towards stablecoins.
The final version now introduces a “circuit breaker”. The Treasury Secretary could restrict some rewards if he sees a significant flight of community bank deposits to stablecoins. This authority would be temporary: it would expire 18 months after the law comes into force.
The subject had already complicated the negotiations. It was noted in August that stablecoins remained one of the main obstacles to the CLARITY Act.
Developers are also getting changes. The new version of the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act maintains protection against automatically treating certain developers as money transmitting businesses under the Bank Secrecy Act. Miners and validators are now explicitly covered.
On the other hand, protections have been tightened. The text notably removes certain references to criminal prosecutions provided for by section 1960 of American law. Digital commodity exchanges, brokers and dealers also face stricter safeguards regarding transactions with their affiliates and conflicts of interest. 635 pages in total. The compromise has thickened.
Tuesday’s vote remains the real obstacle
Despite the concessions, the CLARITY Act is not yet close to becoming a crypto law. The Senate must first clear a procedural vote scheduled for Tuesday at 2:15 p.m. Washington time. It takes 60 votes to move forward. We recently explained why this stage of September 15 remains decisive.
If closure is adopted, the 635-page text will be proposed as a substitute amendment and could continue its journey through the Senate. Republicans are now presenting the document as their “last and best offer” to Democrats.
Lummis does not hide the political pressure. She said Democrats got most of their demands and now must accept compromise. This is obviously the Republican reading of the file. There is no guarantee yet that enough Democratic senators will share it on Tuesday.
Prediction markets remain cautious. Cointelegraph reports that the probability of adoption of the CLARITY Act in 2026 has increased to 35% on Polymarket, its highest level since the end of July. This remains a market estimate, not a Senate vote count.
A few days earlier, the picture was much darker. Tremplin.io noted a drop in adoption probabilities of up to 13%. This time, Trump agreed to the ethics rules. Stablecoins got a compromise mechanism. Developers have their protections. And 126 Democratic requests were integrated. The crypto text therefore comes to the vote with many fewer open points than before the summer. He is still missing the essential: the voices.
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