MIAMI, FL – The long-awaited legislation to establish US regulations for the crypto markets will not survive the Senate if it does not include a controversial ethics provision that prohibits high-ranking officials from personal interests in the industry, US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said.
“Nobody is going to vote for this bill if we don’t have an ethics provision,” Gillibrand, a New York Democrat who has been engaged in bipartisan crypto legislation for years, said Wednesday at Consensus Miami 2026. The inclusion of that section — which is largely aimed at President Donald Trump’s business interests — remains one of the few major points of negotiation for this bill. month.
“We cannot allow members of Congress, senior officials, presidents or vice presidents to get rich off of these industries because of their insider status,” Gillibrand said. “It’s the worst kind of pay-for-play; it’s the worst kind of campaign finance violations; it’s a violation of the Constitution.”
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act – the crypto industry’s main political goal in Washington – is awaiting a necessary hearing in the Senate Banking Committee to move on to the Senate for a vote.
Gillibrand said the ethics negotiations must be resolved in the next week to get bipartisan approval in the hearing, which is expected as soon as next week. She said the dealers are also working on consumer protection and illegal financial elements. So far, White House officials have denied that Trump’s business interests represent a conflict and have said they will not tolerate a bill targeting him.
“We can’t let greed and corruption in Washington tear down this industry, and without that provision, that’s exactly what will happen,” Gillibrand argued.
The window for legislative action is narrowing significantly, and the necessary bandwidth in the Senate to move legislation will be at a premium with about 10 weeks of Senate calendar time remaining before Congress switches to the midterm elections.
Gillibrand predicted a final vote could take place in the first week of August, “if we’re lucky.” It would mark the last chance before Congress’s summer recess.
In another consensus panel, however, Summer Mersinger, executive director of the Blockchain Association, who served on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, suggested that a regulatory window must never close permanently.
“There is a window of opportunity, and it’s always important that you act when you find that window of opportunity,” she said. “But I always say that doesn’t mean the window won’t open again.”
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