Senate releases CLARITY Act banning officials from crypto

Senate Republicans released the full text of the updated Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, moving a landmark cryptocurrency regulatory bill closer to a potential floor vote. The sprawling 616-page legislation aims to create a comprehensive federal framework for digital assets while introducing significant new ethics restrictions for senior federal officials, a provision that has emerged as a major point of contention.

The proposed ethics rules would bar the president, vice president, members of Congress, federal judges, and other covered officials from issuing or sponsoring digital assets for compensation while in office, a restriction that would also apply to their spouses. Officials would be required to divest existing cryptocurrency holdings by selling them, placing them in blind trusts, or a combination of both. Transactions exceeding $1,000 would also be subject to new disclosure requirements. The provisions include a temporary sunset clause, set to expire on January 20, 2029. Enforcement authority would rest primarily with the U.S. Department of Justice.

These ethics measures are described by proponents as the most comprehensive and...