Key Democratic lawmakers say crypto Clarity Act ‘falls short’ on ethics, other issues

The newest draft of the crypto market structure bill “falls short” of where it needs to be on ethics and other provisions, a group of U.S. Senate Democrats said Wednesday.

Senators Angela Alsobrooks, Cory Booker, Catherine Cortez Masto, Ruben Gallego, John Hickenlooper, Mark Warner and Raphael Warnock — a core group of negotiators that would likely be needed to advance the bill — said in a joint statement shared with CoinDesk that they would keep working with their Republican counterparts on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (Clarity Act) but that it needed more work on various outstanding issues, including how the bill addresses illicit finance and consumer protections.

Alsobrooks and Gallego were the only lawmakers to vote for the Clarity Act in committee, while several others on the statement have expressed support for the bill in the past.

“The Republican-proposed text of the CLARITY Act as it currently stands falls short,” the statement said. “Key provisions including those addressing ethics for elected officials, consumer protection, illicit finance, conflicts of interest and market integrity must be strengthened.”