The CLARITY Act will not solve the problem of insider trading in the US: expert opinion
Former White House Communications Director, businessman, and financier Anthony Scaramucci criticized the new ban on cryptocurrency issuance for federal officials, as outlined in the Clarity Act. The founder of SkyBridge Capital called these measures too lenient. The financier believes that ethical standards should regulate all insider trading, not just transactions involving digital assets.
Speaking on CNBC, Scaramucci identified the main cause of the problem. In his view, it lies in the current compensation system in the U.S. Congress.
According to Scaramucci, members of Congress earn $180,000 per year. This salary level, the financier argues, drives congressmen to seek ways to profit from the information they obtain while in office. As a solution, he suggested looking to Singapore's example, where government officials receive multi-million dollar salaries in exchange for strict ethical oversight.
The Pelosi Problem
Scaramucci's position is based on telling statistics: public trading reports show that the portfolio of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, managed by her husband Paul Pelosi, has consistently outperformed the S&P 500 index and Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway fund for many years.
According to 2024 disclosures, Pelosi earned 70.9% compared to the index's 24.9%. Her cumulative income since 2014 exceeds the benchmark by thousands of percentage points. Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna previously accused Pelosi of insider trading, but no formal charges have been filed.
A Familiar Pattern
Scaramucci also recalled attempts to weaken trading oversight in Congress. According to him, lawmakers once eliminated transparency measures through a procedural vote to avoid broad debate on the issue.
This comparison is supported by facts. In April 2012, Congress passed the STOCK Act, which banned trading based on non-public information. Just a year later, they removed the requirement to publish employee trades in an online database, passing the amendment through unanimous consent without a roll-call vote.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has proposed reinstating stricter restrictions on stock trading for parliamentarians.
"They can't afford two apartments... they have plenty of loopholes, a bunch of trips, and many other ways to make money," concluded Anthony Scaramucci.
The updated Clarity Act already prohibits the president and other federal officials from issuing or supporting digital assets. Earlier, Anthony Scaramucci called this ethical compromise option unviable from the start. It remains unclear whether Congress will extend this same approach to its own stock trades — there is almost no time left to make a decision before the August recess.
The ban on cryptocurrencies could set a precedent for other restrictions. However, getting Scaramucci's other demands approved will be difficult, as Congress has resisted change for over a decade.
Expert opinion: While lawmakers focus on banning crypto assets for officials, the real problem — systemic insider trading within Congress itself — remains unaddressed. Without raising salaries and implementing strict ethical standards like those in Singapore, any targeted bans will merely be cosmetic measures incapable of eradicating corruption.