Trump agreed to new ethics rules to get a crypto bill across the line. But that might not be enough

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump had been hearing the message loud and clear for weeks about the sweeping cryptocurrency bill being written in the Senate: to get it across the line, he would have to agree to ethics provisions that apply to him, too.

First, Trump agreed to a measure that would bar him and his wife from issuing the types of meme coins that they swiftly launched as he prepared to return to the White House for a second time. And then another concession came late Sunday, when Republicans said Trump consented to a tougher ethics proposal that several key senators had demanded.

Now, a pivotal Senate vote on the cryptocurrency bill on Tuesday could mark a watershed moment for the $2.3 trillion market — but it hinges mainly on whether those sign-offs from Trump go far enough. That vote could determine whether Washington cements crypto legitimacy into law or whether a frustrated, deep-pocketed industry could unleash even more campaign cash in the midterm elections.

“A vote against the Clarity Act isn’t a principled stand against President Trump," Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., the lead author of the crypto bill, told The Associated Press. "It’s a vote against implementing tough restrictions on politicians for crypto investments.”