Senators Hash Out Ethics Ahead of Crypto Bill Markup

Senators from both parties met Wednesday to try to resolve a dispute over ethics rules before the Senate Banking Committee’s markup of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, scheduled for May 14, 2026. Earlier private negotiations did not produce an agreement.

The bill would draw clearer lines between which tokens and activities the Securities and Exchange Commission oversees and which fall under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Sponsors say the change would give exchanges, token issuers and other crypto firms more certainty about which regulator governs them.

Backers contend it would reduce years of regulatory uncertainty. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has argued the legislation could change how Americans interact with money and markets.

Opponents say the current text lacks protections against conflicts of interest for elected officials. Senator Elizabeth Warren pointed to an allegation that former President Trump and his family profited about $1.4 billion from crypto investments and argued lawmakers should not write rules that could personally benefit them.

Public Citizen and other consumer groups have urged prohibitions on elected officials’ crypto ventures, saying approval without ethics rules would let officials profit from rules they set. Closed-door talks that tried to produce ethics guidelines broke down.

During the markup, committee members will review the bill line by line, propose amendments and vote on whether to advance it to the full Senate. Key amendments are expected on conflict-of-interest provisions and on how the bill divides jurisdiction between the SEC and the CFTC.

How the bill allocates regulators could give structural advantages to different kinds of firms. Lawmakers will decide whether to add limits or disclosure requirements for officials’ financial ties to crypto, or to advance the bill without those restrictions.