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The Senate's landmark crypto bill just picked up a provision aimed squarely at the White House. Presidents, along with other federal officials, would be barred from issuing or sponsoring cryptocurrencies and other digital assets under updated text of the Clarity Act now circulating in the Senate.
On July 22, 2026, Senate Republicans revised the bill to include the restriction, according to text obtained by CNBC.
It marks the first time any major piece of US legislation has attempted to put limits on how a sitting president can profit from crypto, a question that has hung over the entire market structure debate since the Trump family entered the digital asset business.
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Why this provision exists
The ethics question has been the single biggest obstacle standing between the Clarity Act and the 60 votes it needs on the Senate floor. Democrats have spent months pressing for rules covering federal officials, their families, and their staff when it comes to crypto dealings, an issue that runs straight through President Donald Trump's own portfolio.
The TRUMP memecoin, the family-linked World Liberty Financial venture, and a growing list of Trump-branded digital asset products have made the conflict-of-interest debate impossible for lawmakers to avoid.
During the Senate Banking Committee markup in May, Maryland Democrat Chris Van Hollen introduced an amendment to bar government officials, including the president, from holding business ties to the crypto industry, arguing it was needed to prevent self dealing by the president or members of Congress.
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A broader House proposal went further, seeking to ban the president, the vice president, members of Congress, and presidential candidates from issuing or endorsing any digital asset.
Republicans had resisted formal ethics language, wary of provoking the White House on a bill the industry desperately wants signed. Adding the ban now signals the party has accepted that some version of it is the price of passage.
Where the Clarity Act stands
The Clarity Act cleared the Senate Banking Committee on May 14, 2026 by a 15 to 9 vote, with Arizona's Ruben Gallego and Maryland's Angela Alsobrooks the only Democrats joining Republicans in support. Bitcoin briefly crossed $82,000 on the day of the vote. The House passed its own version of the bill in July 2025 during what lawmakers dubbed Crypto Week.
The bill would create the first comprehensive rulebook for US digital asset markets, splitting oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission along a security-versus-commodity line, and creating a registration path for exchanges and token issuers.
Even the Democrats who voted for it in committee made clear their floor support was not guaranteed.
Alsobrooks said at the time she would not back the bill on the floor until outstanding issues were resolved, with the ethics rules chief among them. The updated text suggests Republican leadership heard the message.
What happens next
The revised bill still has to survive a full Senate vote, get merged with the Senate Agriculture Committee's companion version, and then be reconciled with the House text before it can reach the president's desk.
The open question is whether a ban on presidents issuing digital assets is enough for Democrats who wanted restrictions on holdings and family business ties as well, and whether the White House will accept a bill that directly limits the president's own crypto ventures.
The industry has pushed for the Clarity Act as its top legislative priority for over a year. Whether the ethics compromise clears the path or opens a new fight will likely be decided in the coming weeks.
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