CPI | Crypto Regulation Bill Stalls in Senate Amid Ethics Fight

The US Senate on Tuesday blocked an effort to advance landmark cryptocurrency legislation, as Democratic concerns over ethics safeguards and President Donald Trump’s digital-asset interests prevented the measure from securing enough support.

The Senate voted 49-50 on a procedural motion to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, according to reporting by The Hill. The measure needed 60 votes to move forward, leaving lawmakers well short of the threshold required to begin consideration of the legislation.

The result followed months of negotiations between Republicans and Democrats over how digital assets should be regulated and, increasingly, how Congress should address potential conflicts of interest involving elected officials with financial ties to cryptocurrency.

According to The Hill, Democratic opposition centered in significant part on whether the legislation contained sufficiently strong ethics safeguards, including restrictions intended to prevent President Donald Trump and other federal officials from benefiting financially from crypto ventures while serving in office.

Republicans had sought to address those objections before Tuesday’s vote. A revised version of the legislation incorporated numerous changes requested by Democratic negotiators and strengthened provisions governing the crypto activities of public officials. Reuters reported ahead of the vote that Republican sponsors said the latest version contained 126 substantive changes sought by Democrats.