Clarity Act sits idle over Trump ethics question as Warren asks SEC to investigate him

The $TRUMP coin was worth more than $46 at its height, but it steadily declined to its current price of $1.47. The token saw brief spikes in value when the company behind it announced it would host dinners — including at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, with the president as the keynote speaker — but that price action was temporary both times.

In what’s likely to pack more political needling than actual regulatory results, the letter comes as negotiators hoping to finish the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act are awaiting the White House’s response to the latest revamping of the contentious section that would ban senior government officials from direct involvement in crypto projects.

For its part, the SEC has already ruled memecoins as generally outside its sphere of influence. In one of the early staff crypto statements after the Trump administration took over, the agency declared that memecoins have “limited or no use or functionality” and don’t check a box as securities under the law.

The ability for a government official, such as President Trump, to issue such a token is at the center of the negotiation over the ethics section of the Clarity Act. Trump recently agreed to be subjected to a limit, though the restrictions he agreed to would have very narrow practical effect. Democrats refused the approach and said they’d oppose the legislation unless that provision was made stronger, so Senators Thom Tillis, a Republican, and Ruben Gallego, a Democrat, negotiated a tougher version. The rewrite was sent to the White House last week, which hasn’t yet responded days later.