WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump is pushing Congress to advance a major cryptocurrency bill after welcoming some of the industry’s top leaders to the White House on Wednesday.
“The people in this room are ensuring that the future of commercial markets is pioneered and perfected right here in the U.S.A.,” the president said.
Following the president’s meeting with the crypto executives, crypto markets reacted favorably. Bitcoin (BTC) surged above $70,000 for the first time since June.
The meeting was part of an industry-backed, bipartisan push for clearer rules and regulation. But the bill to do that remains stuck on Capitol Hill.
President Trump said the legislation will help the U.S. maintain its edge over global competitors.
“We’re fighting a lot of other countries to control these markets and to have these markets and to profit and all the jobs and everything else created. And we’re doing well. We’re leading in every aspect,” said Trump.
“I think it’s been an important pillar of the president’s agenda to make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world. And the Clarity Act is probably the most important piece of that agenda,” said Kristin Smith, president of the Solana Policy Institute.
Smith said the bill would require illicit finance protections and place crypto markets under the oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and give disclosure oversight to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
“Essentially, if there’s a new cryptocurrency that’s being made, they would have to file disclosures with the SEC, sort of like we have with equities,” said Smith.
Passing the bill and having it signed into law, Smith said, would be a major step toward consistency, legitimacy and reliability for the 67 million Americans who own and use crypto.
“There are gaps in the law. We want to make sure that Congress has the time to close those gaps so that we have the right kind of consumer protections in place,” she said.
The initial House version of the Clarity Act passed last year — but it remains stalled in the Senate.
“The Clarity Act needs rigorous ethical provisions and robust consumer protections, and I am working hard to make sure those are included in the final text. I am optimistic that we can reach an agreement and get this bill passed in the fall,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., told us in a statement.
Democrats have also raised concerns about the president’s family profiting from crypto.
“But I do think this is an issue that does need to get resolved in order to get Democratic support for the bill, because a lot of them do have concerns with the Trump family’s involvement with the crypto industry,” said Smith.
Specifically, Democrats are seeking a prohibition on the issuance and sponsorship of digital assets for federal officials, the president, vice president and members of Congress.
There was a last-ditch effort among a bipartisan group of Senate negotiators to finalize the text and consider it before the August recess. That did not happen. However, it is one of the top priorities for senators when they return next month.
The White House event Wednesday came just before the CFTC hosted the first meeting of its Innovation Advisory Committee on Thursday.
“I think what we’re seeing with the CFTC is they’re preparing to move with or without new legislation and using whatever authority they already have to bring more regulation to the space,” said Smith. “We’re very eager to see if they have any timeline or announcements around new rule makings.”
