Senate fails to advance cryptocurrency bill amid ethics concerns

Sept. 15 (UPI) — The U.S. Senate on Tuesday failed to advance a cryptocurrency bill, the Clarity Act, as Democrats and some Republicans expressed concerns about the bill’s ethics standards.

The bill needed 60 votes to move forward and fell in a 49-50 vote with all Democrats and four Republicans voting against it. It would have established a framework for regulating the cryptocurrency industry, something the industry itself has sought, and came to a vote after more than a year of bipartisan negotiations.

But while this most recent version included updated ethics language that addressed some Democratic concerns about public officials — including President Donald Trump — profiting off cryptocurrency ventures, it was not enough in the end.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said she believes “we can get crypto legislation that both Republicans and Democrats agree on — but not this bill.”

“This bill poses a massive risk to families, to our economy and to national security,” Warren said, CBS News reported. She said the country needs legislation that “stops political self-dealing” but said the Clarity Act “would turbocharge Donald Trump’s unprecedented corruption.”

Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., a key Democratic negotiator, said before the vote that senators had reached a good ethics compromise “that would have bought a lot of Dem votes.” However, he said, Republicans “cared more about making sure the president keeps making money than actually bringing regulations,” CNBC reported.

The critics said the ethics language in the bill, including the recent changes, do not go far enough to prevent officials from profiting off crypto ventures. Trump made $1.4 billion in crypto-related income last year, CBS said.

Before the vote Tuesday, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said passing it would be the “next logical step” and that it “protects the growing number of Americans investing in and utilizing digital assets.”

Thune also lauded the bill’s support from large financial institutions and law enforcement organizations and alleged the only reason for it not to advance was if Democrats “chose politics over good policy.”

The failed vote means there will likely be at least another year before there’s another attempt at congressional regulation. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., a champion of the cyptocurrency industry in the Senate, said before the vote that if it failed, “it’s over.”