Key Takeaways
- Sen. Lummis urged Democrats to pass the CLARITY Act, warning that blocking it will drive crypto firms abroad.
- The bill adds strict ethics rules forcing officials to divest crypto, aiming to appease Democratic demands.
- A Tuesday vote decides the bills fate; failure risks losing the regulatory reach to prevent another FTX.
‘Put Their Money Where Their Mouth Is’: Lummis Calls Democrats to Rally Behind CLARITY Act
Senator Cynthia Lummis has called Senate Democrats to rally behind the final version of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act presented on Sunday night, stressing that failing to do so would result in crypto companies leaving the U.S.
In a recent opinion piece, Lummis explained the bills bipartisan origins, highlighting that since its beginnings as the Responsible Financial Innovation Act in 2022, it has been a joint effort with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.
Lummis remarked on the victories achieved so far, managing to gather support from both financial institutions like Goldman Sachs and Fidelity and law enforcement groups like the National Fraternal Order of Police and the National Sheriffs Association.
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In addition, she mentioned that several compromises were made to appease Senate Democrats demands in new ethics language that bans covered individuals, including Trump himself, from sponsoring digital assets and forces them to divest their digital assets or place them in a blind trust.
“If my Democratic colleagues are truly concerned about the presidents crypto investments, then passing this bill — not blocking it — is the way to address that,”she assessed.
Finally, she pointed out that dropping the CLARITY Act wont make the industry “evaporate,” and that it will only migrate to more crypto-friendly jurisdictions, with investments and jobs leaving for London, Singapore or Abu Dhabi.
Lummis added that once this happens, U.S. regulation will lose the reach needed to prevent another FTX-like incident and its consequences, and that this would also empower foreign adversaries using crypto loopholes for money laundering purposes.
“It is time for Democrats to put their money where their mouth is and join us in passing the Clarity Act… Lets pass the Clarity Act now,”Lummis concluded.
The vote to discuss the CLARITY Act will happen Tuesday evening, and even after 126 Democrat-pushed changes to the final draft, the bills destiny remains uncertain.