White House Reaches Ethics Deal on CLARITY Act, Paving Way for Crypto Market Legislation

The White House has reportedly reached an agreement on an ethics package for the Clarity Act, potentially removing a major legislative hurdle for the landmark market-structure bill. According to reports from Eleanor Terrett, the administration has shared the proposed language with Senate Republicans, signaling a shift in negotiations that have stalled for weeks.

The ethics provision has been a central point of contention in the U.S. Senate. Democrats, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren, have insisted that any comprehensive legislation governing digital assets must include strict prohibitions preventing the president, senior officials, and their immediate families from profiting from the industry.

The urgency for these safeguards intensified after former President Donald Trump disclosed more than $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency income. This disclosure prompted critics to label the initial proposal a “corrupt bill,” arguing that without an ethics package, the legislation could facilitate conflicts of interest at the highest levels of government. If the White House has indeed signed off on this language, it removes the primary objection that has allowed many Democrats to withhold the support needed to reach the 60-vote threshold required for Senate passage.

While the specific details of the agreement remain confidential, industry analysts suggest that resolving the ethics dispute could help the bill reach the necessary bipartisan consensus. Currently, the CLARITY Act needs at least seven Democratic votes to advance. On the prediction platform Polymarket, the probability of the bill being signed into law by 2026 rose to 42% following the news, reflecting renewed optimism among market participants.

The legislative progress coincided with a positive trend in the broader market. Bitcoin ETFs recorded $227M in net inflows on Monday, marking five straight days of positive movement. During the same period, Ethereum-based funds saw $38M in inflows. Bitcoin itself climbed toward $66,300, while Ethereum traded near $1,935, and Solana rose to $78.

In the corporate sector, MicroStrategy continued to bolster its financial position. The company raised an additional $225M in cash through stock sales, bringing its total cash reserves to $3.2 billion. Notably, the firm paused its aggressive acquisition strategy, maintaining its current holding of 843,775 BTC without making new purchases this week. This follows a broader trend of institutional caution as the market awaits clearer regulatory guidelines.

Regulatory shifts are also occurring within major exchanges. OKX recently appointed former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to its board, a move intended to strengthen its regulatory standing as it expands its footprint in the United States. Meanwhile, Polymarket has taken steps to maintain platform integrity by referring approximately 100 wallets to law enforcement in a crackdown on potential insider trading.

The intersection of artificial intelligence and crypto infrastructure also saw significant investment. Fluidstack secured $830M in Series A funding to repurpose Bitcoin mining facilities for AI compute tasks. This trend is mirrored by companies like Hut 8 and IREN, which recently secured multi-billion dollar contracts to address growing data-center demand, easing concerns about the long-term viability of energy-intensive mining operations.