Senators File Clarity Act Amendments on DeFi, Trump Family, and Jeffrey Epstein

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In brief - Senators filed dozens of last-minute amendments to the Clarity Act ahead of Thursday’s key vote. - Proposed changes target stablecoin rewards, Trump family crypto ventures, DeFi regulation, and anti-money laundering rules. - Other amendments veer beyond crypto entirely, including proposals on housing policy, credit card fees, and releasing records tied to Jeffrey Epstein. With less than 24 hours to go until the Senate Banking Committee’s landmark vote on the Clarity Act, participating senators have introduced dozens of amendments to the major crypto bill. At tomorrow’s hearing, lawmakers will vote on adding each amendment to the sprawling legislation—which would formally legalize most crypto activity in the United States—before ultimately deciding whether to pass the bill onto the Senate floor. Here’s a breakdown of those amendments, which have been reviewed by Decrypt. The last-minute additions to the Clarity Act pertain not only to well-worn topics like stablecoin yield and DeFi regulation—but also credit card fees, housing, and even Jeffrey Epstein. Stablecoin yield and Trump ventures Some of tomorrow’s proposed amendments tackle familiar subjects, including rewards on stablecoin holdings and attempts to limit the lucrative, crypto-related ventures of President Donald Trump and his family. One amendment vote sure to garner attention tomorrow comes courtesy of Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), who has reproduced the exact language on stablecoin yield requested by the banking industry. The amendment will force all members of the Senate Banking Committee to vote on its inclusion in the Clarity Act and essentially pick a side. For months, the banking industry and the crypto lobby have battled over the fate of programs offering rewards on stablecoins, cryptocurrencies pegged to the value of the U.S. dollar. The current Clarity Act language on the subject received approval from the crypto industry, but has been hammered by traditional banks. In regards to crypto’s potential impact on the broader economy, Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) introduced an amendment that would prohibit the U.S. government from ever providing crypto businesses financial assistance to prevent “failure or bankruptcy.” Another amendment from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) would prevent the U.S. government from approving banking-related applications for institutions directly tied to the president, the vice president, members of Congress, and their immediate families. It would also prohibit such individuals from controlling or owning banks. The language is all-but certainly a jab at the Trump family’s crypto company, World Liberty Financial, which applied this year to receive a banking charter from the Trump administration. Democrats including Warren have hammered the situation as indicative of the president’s alleged self-dealing. In a similar vein, Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) has introduced an amendment requiring the re-establishment of an inter-agency National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, which would, among other things, investigate crypto ventures with direct ties to the president and their immediate family. Broader language regarding the president’s involvement with crypto is currently being negotiated between leaders in both parties. Key pro-crypto Democrats have said they will not vote the Clarity Act through to the Senate floor tomorrow unless guarantees about such language have been made by the time of the hearing. DeFi restrictions, sanctions, and privacy Of the dozens upon dozens of amendments set to receive votes tomorrow, many pertain to the hot-button issues of regulating decentralized finance (DeFi), protecting user privacy, and maintaining controls on illicit crypto users. Andy Kim, who voted to pass the stablecoin-focused GENIUS Act out of committee last spring, introduced several amendments to the Clarity Act focused on beefing up national security protections in crypto. One such amendment would require businesses deriving significant revenue from DeFi platforms to institute proactive anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance programs. Another would grant the U.S. government clear jurisdiction to sanction any transactions involving U.S.-dollar backed stablecoins. Another amendment from Elizabeth Warren would allow the U.S. government to blacklist crypto platforms that facilitate more than one illicit transaction. An additional amendment from Jack Reed, sure to attract the crypto industry’s ire, would entirely eliminate the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA), a key provision of the Clarity Act exempting DeFi from most new regulations and broadly protecting crypto software developers from criminal prosecution. Indeed, advocates such as the DeFi Education Fund have already begun calling out amendments they want struck down, including those meant to weaken protections for developers and decentralized finance protocols. Senate Republicans have also introduced amendments on the subject of illicit crypto activity and privacy. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Dave McCormick (R-PA) introduced language that would create a permanent Digital Asset Cyber Innovation Center at the Treasury Department, designed to counter crypto-related threats from state actors including North Korea and Iran. Hagerty also introduced an amendment that would permanently ban the U.S. government from issuing its own central bank digital currency, or CBDC. A five-year ban on such an asset is attached to a major housing bill currently on hold in the House. Non-crypto amendments Then there are the many amendments that have absolutely nothing to do with crypto. One, from Bill Hagerty, would cut regulations on housing development in certain approved areas of the country. Another, from Elizabeth Warren, would require federal banking regulators to release all information in their possession related to Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators within 90 days of the Clarity Act’s passage. Another from Warren (the progressive senator filed over 40 amendments on the bill) would cap credit card interest rates at 10% for a year. And one from Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) would increase the swipe fees paid by merchants and retailers to banks to keep up with inflation. The policy, previously floated by Britt, would be a particular boon to community banks—which feel especially threatened by stablecoin yield. “If you’ve made community banks angry about stablecoin yield, this is a nice little treat on the side,” one D.C. insider told Decrypt.

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