Treasury Secretary Invokes Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto in Plea for Clarity Act
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- Scott Bessent urged the Senate to immediately vote on the Clarity Act, accusing Democrats of delaying for political reasons and warning the U.S. risks losing digital asset leadership without clear rules.
- Bessent rejected criticism that the bill lacks safeguards, arguing Titles II and III would expand compliance for digital asset intermediaries to standards comparable to traditional financial institutions.
- Bessent defended the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act provision, which codifies Treasury policy exempting decentralized software developers from Bank Secrecy Act registration; the Fraternal Order of Police shifted from opposition to support.
- Bessent closed his X post with a quote attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto: 'If you don't believe me or don't get it, I don't have time to try to convince you, sorry.'
- The Clarity Act would split digital asset oversight between the SEC and CFTC, with most crypto assets falling under CFTC jurisdiction; the House passed it more than a year ago.
- Senate Republicans added ethics provisions in May barring the president and federal officials from issuing digital assets, targeting Trump's crypto ventures that generated over $1.2 billion in 2025; Democrats criticize the provisions because they expire in 2029, enforce solely through DOJ, and don't extend to officials' children.
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he does not expect the bill to clear the chamber before the August recess, which most observers consider the hard deadline for any legislation this year.
Why it matters: Bessent's public pressure campaign frames the Clarity Act as a digital asset leadership test, but the ethics provisions — designed to curb Trump's $1.2 billion in 2025 crypto gains — expire in 2029, are enforced only by DOJ, and exclude officials' children, giving Democrats durable leverage to block or rewrite them before the August recess Thune flagged as the hard cutoff.
