US President Donald Trump held a closed-door meeting with advisers on Friday, September 11, to work through the ethics language holding up the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, just days before a crucial Senate cloture vote. According to Politico, two people familiar with the talks confirmed the session, but neither the White House nor negotiators disclosed what was decided. The Senate returns Monday and faces a Tuesday procedural vote that requires 60 votes; Republicans hold 53 seats and need at least seven Democrats to advance the bill.
The central dispute is a conflict-of-interest provision aimed at officials who profit from digital assets. Senate Democrats and at least one Republican, Senator Thom Tillis, have called earlier language too weak. Senator Cynthia Lummis had brokered a version Trump accepted, but critics say the current draft still allows officials and their spouses to hold crypto personally, exempts children, and expires in 2029. Trump’s crypto policy adviser Patrick Witt posted an upbeat message, writing it was a “Bad day to be a Clarity Act doomer”.
The ethics fight is closely tied to World Liberty Financial, the Trump family crypto venture launched in September 2024. The project issues the WLFI governance token and the USD1 stablecoin, which is backed by Treasuries and custodied by BitGo. Under its own disclosures, an entity tied to Trump and family members takes 75% of WLFI sale proceeds. Trump reported more than $1 billion in crypto income for 2025, including roughly $515 million from WLFI sales. Senator Elizabeth Warren said the draft would not stop him from “vacuuming up his next $1.4 billion in crypto profits.”
Beyond the ethics language, the bill would divide crypto oversight between the SEC and CFTC. A token would move from securities law to commodities law if its network is fully operational, no single holder controls more than 20% of supply or voting power, and founders hold no unilateral upgrade authority. Payment stablecoins would sit in a shared SEC-CFTC category, with core rules already set by the GENIUS Act.
The outlook remains uncertain. Prediction markets have priced in difficulty, with Polymarket odds of 2026 passage sliding from 82% in February to roughly 16% by late August, and Galaxy Digital cutting its estimate near 10%. If cloture fails, the bill is likely dead for the year, leaving crypto regulation to agency rulemaking through at least 2029. The House passed its version 294 to 134 in July 2025, and the Senate Banking Committee cleared its version 15 to 9 in May, but a failed Senate vote would leave the industry relying on SEC, CFTC and OCC actions.
