U.S. President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans have reached an accord on a stricter ethics rule that prohibits high-ranking government officials from launching their own digital currencies while mandating asset divestment.
This particular ethics mandate served as a principal roadblock for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which faces its initial procedural cloture vote on Tuesday.
Additional modifications involve adjustments to the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act alongside stipulations regarding stablecoin yields and rewards.
An updated draft of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act brings forth more stringent ethical guidelines that specifically prohibit the U.S. President and other top-tier government figures from minting a digital token, backing a crypto asset, or otherwise “maintaining a significant financial interest” absent specific exceptions.
Made available publicly early on Monday, this latest draft presents what could be the definitive wording prior to Tuesday’s crucial ballot. The text compels the divestment of cryptocurrency holdings and grants state attorneys general the authority to file lawsuits aimed at enforcing this code of conduct, marking a clear departure from the prior iteration of the bill published last Thursday.
The integrity provision had long remained a central hurdle impeding the legislation’s progress. Nonetheless, securing President Donald Trump’s reported backing does not automatically guarantee a smooth transition into law. The measure requires 60 affirmative votes during the upcoming Tuesday cloture vote, with both Democratic and Republican legislators having previously raised objections concerning various clauses. Democrats primarily focused their criticisms on the earlier wording of the ethics section, whereas a small faction of Republicans scrutinized the directives surrounding stablecoin yields and incentives.
Should the bill successfully clear this week’s cloture vote, the legislative procedure will advance, though subsequent votes—including a final passage referendum—still lie ahead. Furthermore, the House of Representatives must take up the legislation following its return from the post-election recess in November.
The ethics requirement additionally establishes civil penalties directed at the issuer and, differing from the prior version, empowers state attorneys general to initiate litigation to ensure compliance. Moreover, the updated legislation removes an earlier sunset clause that applied to enforcement.
“Not later than the effective date of division C of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act under section 30104 of that division, a covered individual who maintains a significant financial interest shall — A divest the significant financial interest; or B place the significant financial interest in a qualified blind trust,” the revised text noted.
Under the bill, a “covered individual”—the designated label for a senior government official governed by these ethics rules—will have three days to inform the relevant ethics office, which is subsequently granted another three days to publicly disclose the divestment. Such divestment procedures will be categorized as a standard sale.
The legislative language also forbids digital asset exchanges from incorporating any cryptocurrency tokens generated by a covered individual.
Further adjustments within the legislation encompass refinements to wording concerning decentralized finance and the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act. It also features a clause empowering the U.S. Treasury Secretary to curtail stablecoin rewards upon determining that community banks are suffering from deposit flight, though this specific authority expires 18 months following the formal enactment of the bill.
Originally published at https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/09/14/here-is-the-revised-clarity-act-ethics-provision-donald-trump-has-agreed-to.
