Senate Republicans released a revised version of the CLARITY Act on Sunday, incorporating significant changes to rules governing digital asset holdings by government officials, in an effort to secure Democratic support ahead of a crucial procedural vote scheduled for Tuesday at 2:15 p.m. ET.
The 635-page proposal was unveiled by Senate Banking Digital Assets Subcommittee Chair Cynthia Lummis alongside subcommittee Chairman John Boozman and Senator Tim Scott. The revision also amends the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) and includes new provisions addressing stablecoin yield.
Lummis said the updated ethics provisions had been agreed to by President Donald Trump. "After a year of intense daily bipartisan negotiations, this bill is ready," she said. "President Trump voluntarily agreed to unprecedented ethics restrictions, holding every federally elected official, judge and their spouses to some of the toughest ethics restrictions in US history."
The final text reflects 126 changes made at the request of Democrats over the course of roughly a year of negotiations, according to Lummis. A Republican aide told reporters the proposal constituted a final offer on the bill.
Under the revised ethics rules, state attorneys general would gain enforcement authority over bans prohibiting federal officials from issuing, sponsoring or holding significant financial interests in digital assets, as well as bans on exchanges listing assets in violation of those restrictions. Covered individuals would be required to divest significant holdings or place them in a qualified blind trust. Violations would carry civil penalties of $500,000 or 20% of the amount received in the prohibited transaction, whichever is greater.
The ethics provisions would take effect 360 days after enactment, or sooner if implementing regulations are finalized.
On stablecoins, the bill requires the Treasury secretary to introduce rules restricting rewards if they determine that community banks are losing deposits on a substantial scale. That authority would expire 18 months after the bill becomes law.
The revised BRCA would retain protections against treating developers as money transmitters or financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act and extend those protections to miners and validators, which were previously excluded. It would also remove references to Section 1960 of Title 18 of the US Code, which prohibits unlicensed money transmitting businesses.
Additional revisions strengthen safeguards around affiliate trading and conflicts of interest at digital commodity exchanges, brokers and dealers, and clarify how consumer protection laws apply to digital asset markets.
Treasury Secretary Bessent has urged passage of the CLARITY Act following the Senate's return from recess, according to reports.
