The lack of an ethical provision remains one of the biggest problems. Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), one of two Democrats who voted to advance the bill out of the Senate Banking Committee, has repeatedly said he will not support the legislation in the Senate without a bipartisan ethics provision. Other Democrats have raised similar concerns about conflicts of interest involving public officials and digital assets.
As of Friday, there had been no public reading from Thursday’s White House meeting and no bipartisan ethics language had emerged, leaving one of the bill’s biggest hurdles unresolved.
If passed, the Clarity Act would establish a federal framework for digital asset markets by drawing a clearer line between assets regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and those overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Supporters argue the measure would replace years of regulation through enforcement with rules written by Congress.
Industry leaders echoed that message during a House hearing Friday, marking one year since the chamber passed the legislation.
“The community has already done the hard work,” Nova Labs CEO Sarah Aberg told lawmakers, arguing that regulatory uncertainty delayed investment in the Helium wireless network after the SEC sued the company in a case that was later settled. “Clarity is not a call for deregulation; it is a call for the right regulation by the right regulator.”
