With only seven days left before the Senate breaks for its August recess, lawmakers are racing to close out the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act — and a bipartisan pair of senators has reportedly found a way to tighten one of the bill's most contentious provisions. Senators Thom Tillis, a Republican, and Ruben Gallego, a Democrat, have finalized a compromise approach to revamp the ethics section governing crypto holdings by senior U.S. officials, according to people familiar with the negotiations.
The provision in question addresses conflicts of interest tied to cryptocurrency holdings by senior officials, a section President Trump had already agreed to accept in a narrower form — a concession that reportedly surprised some observers given the administration's prior resistance to any ethics constraints tied to digital assets.
Why Democrats Say the Original Language Falls Short
Despite Trump's concession, Democratic lawmakers have argued the language as originally drafted was too weak to matter in practice. Critics contend the ethics framework is structured in such a way that Trump would face little practical obligation to comply, given that any enforcement action would run through a Department of Justice led by his own appointees. That, in their view, leaves the provision as largely symbolic rather than a genuine check.
Tillis and Gallego's compromise is intended to address that gap, though the specific text of their revised ethics language has not been publicly disclosed. The move reflects an effort to keep the broader bill alive by resolving one of its most politically sensitive components before time runs out.
Other Sticking Points Still Unresolved
The ethics section is not the only unresolved piece of the legislation. Negotiators are also still working through protections for decentralized finance protocols relating to money transmitter regulations, as well as restrictions on stablecoin rewards programs — both of which remain live issues heading into the final stretch before recess.
Industry voices have been vocal about wanting the bill across the finish line. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong recently described the legislation as "almost here," characterizing the state of negotiations as being at "the one yard line."
A Tight Timeline in the Senate
Even with a compromise reportedly in hand on the ethics language, the broader bill faces long odds of clearing the chamber before recess. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said he does not expect the bill to pass before lawmakers leave Washington, even as talks continue in pursuit of the 60 votes needed for passage.
That leaves the Clarity Act in a familiar position for major crypto legislation: substantively close to a deal, but still short of the votes and time needed to actually get it signed into law. Whether the Tillis-Gallego compromise on ethics is enough to unstick the rest of the bill's sticking points may not be clear until Congress returns from recess.
