In Washington, cautious optimism remains regarding the fate of the CLARITY Act — a landmark bill that would establish the first comprehensive federal regulation of the U.S. cryptocurrency market. However, a key stumbling block that could derail its passage lies in the realm of ethics and conflict of interest, directly linked to the figure of Donald Trump.
The current version of the document does not receive the necessary support from Democrats. The reason is unresolved provisions concerning transparency and the prevention of abuses in the context of personal crypto assets of politicians and their families. At a time when Trump is actively promoting his own NFT projects and related financial instruments, the opposition insists on including strict norms that eliminate any possibility of lobbying interests through regulation.
Despite these disagreements, my contacts in Congress and among leading industry players believe that the final version of the text can be agreed upon within the next few months. The bill is critically important for the market: it is intended to replace "regulation through lawsuits" and provide clear rules for stablecoin issuers, exchanges, and DeFi protocols.
My analysis: The delay in adopting the CLARITY Act amid an ethical scandal is an alarming signal. The market needs clarity, but the political struggle surrounding the personal interests of key figures could set the U.S. back in the global race for crypto innovation. If Democrats and Republicans fail to find a compromise on the "Trump paragraph," we risk another year of legal uncertainty, which benefits only offshore jurisdictions.