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The Senate has unveiled a sweeping rewrite of the House-passed Digital Asset Market Clarity Act that would expand federal regulation of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets while also prohibiting presidents and other federal officials from issuing or sponsoring digital assets.
Senate Republicans released updated bill text Wednesday even as bipartisan negotiations have yet to produce a final agreement.
The nearly 620-page substitute expands upon the House bill, which passed in July 2025 with broad bipartisan support. It adds anti-money laundering, banking, ethics, consumer protection, and law enforcement provisions drawn from several previously introduced Senate proposals.
The ethics provision stipulates that federal officials "shall not, in exchange for consideration," "issue a digital asset," or "sponsor a digital asset" while serving as a public employee.
The prohibitions would apply to public officials, employees, and their spouses and would sunset in 2029. The language also bars crypto companies from listing assets that are "issued" or "sponsored" by federal officials in violation of the provision.
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, one of the measure's supporters, told CNBC that President Donald Trump signed off on the ethics section of the bill.
Politico reported that the ethics language stems from an agreement between Senate Republicans and the White House, and it has no support from Senate Democrats.
The Department of Justice would be responsible for enforcing the ethics provisions, an approach Democrats oppose because they argue the Justice Department under Trump should not have sole enforcement authority. They have pushed for state attorneys general to have a role in enforcing the ethics language in the bill.
The draft ethics language states that the attorney general "shall bring a civil action in an appropriate district court of the United States against" a government official who "knowingly and willfully violates" the requirements in the provision or "a digital asset intermediary that knowingly and willfully violates" them.
The draft language specifically stipulates that "no action, public or private, may be brought under this section by any State attorney general or any person other than the Attorney General."
The bill creates civil penalties for violations, including a fine of $500,000 or 10% of the value of the digital asset issued. The restrictions would expire at noon on Jan. 20, 2029, Inauguration Day for the next president.
The updated bill also includes a grant program providing $600 million annually through 2031 to give state and local authorities more resources to combat digital asset-related crimes, along with a new task force and command center to combat illicit foreign financing and fraud.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Wednesday he hopes to bring the bill to the Senate floor for a vote next week. It is unclear whether the measure has enough Democrat support to secure the 60 votes needed to advance.
"Once the text is out, we'll have to figure out what the traffic will bear, what changes have to be incorporated in order to get 60 on the floor," he said, according to Bloomberg.
Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., whose 2024 campaign was backed by the crypto industry, told Bloomberg he is reviewing the language. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., another crypto-friendly Democrat, told Bloomberg it was "stone crazy" to put Trump's DOJ in charge of enforcing the ethics provision.
Alsobrooks said she wants state attorneys general to have the authority to enforce the ethics provisions. She added that it has become harder for Democrats to back the bill after Trump was reported to have made at least $1.4 billion from crypto ventures last year.
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