Trump Backs Ethics Concessions in Final Clarity Act — SkimNews
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- Senate Republicans released their revised Clarity Act on Sunday, calling it their "last, best and final offer" ahead of Tuesday's cloture vote that requires 60 senators and at least seven Democratic crossovers to advance.
- Trump signed off on roughly 80% of a July ethics counteroffer from Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), accepting requirements for divestment or qualified blind trusts, state AG enforcement, and no sunset date—despite telling Punchbowl News just last month the proposal unfairly singled him out.
- The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act provisions were modified to remove explicit protections from criminal prosecution under Section 1960, a concession to prosecutors and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), while extending civil Bank Secrecy Act protections to miners and validators for the first time.
- The new text adds stablecoin "circuit breaker" language allowing the Treasury Secretary to intervene on evidence of widespread deposit flight from community banks—an idea Sen. Tillis first floated in July as a "test" of whether banks' objections were "a red herring."
- Galaxy Digital Head of Research Alex Thorn raised his 2026 Clarity Act passage odds from 10% to 25% Monday, though he warned the tight calendar and a potential lame-duck House vote remain major hurdles.
- Trump reported more than $1.4 billion in family crypto venture income last year and roughly $635 million from his TRUMP meme coin, while Bloomberg previously reported forced divestment could let him defer capital gains taxes on required asset sales.
Why it matters: The revised ethics language directly addresses Democrats' core complaint about Trump's crypto conflicts, and removing Section 1960 criminal-prosecution shields preserves federal leverage against DeFi developers—a trade Thorn rated worth doubling 2026 passage odds from 10% to 25%, even as Sens. Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) still demand bank-favored changes before Tuesday's cloture vote.
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