CLARITY Act negotiations stall over ethics provision

Last-minute negotiations over the CLARITY Act are ongoing in Congress as its passage deadline nears, CoinDesk reported. The most contentious issue is an ethics provision that would restrict public officials from maintaining business relationships with the crypto industry, a point of difficulty due to its connection to the Trump family, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), and the TRUMP memecoin. Patrick Witt, executive director of the White House Cryptocurrency Committee, is reportedly pushing for the provision to apply to a broad range of public officials rather than being targeted specifically at the president. Other unresolved issues include concerns over the regulatory capacity of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), disputes over liability exemptions for DeFi developers, and the matter of stablecoin interest. The Digital Chamber and its member companies are lobbying with the goal of bringing the bill to a floor vote on July 13. However, if the bill fails to pass the Senate before the August recess, the chances of it becoming law this year will decrease significantly.