Tillis Threatens CLARITY Act Over Ethics Rules

Sen. Thom Tillis has threatened to oppose the Senate’s crypto market structure bill unless lawmakers add ethics limits on federal officials’ digital asset activity, adding a new barrier to the CLARITY Act negotiations.

Tillis told Politico that the bill must include ethics language before it leaves the Senate. “There has to be ethics language in the bill before it leaves the Senate, or I’ll go from one of the people working on negotiating it to voting against it,” he said, according to reports citing the interview.

The demand comes as the Senate continues work on a version of the House-passed digital asset market structure bill. The CLARITY Act seeks to define how U.S. regulators oversee crypto markets, including which assets fall under securities or commodities rules.

Tillis Pushes Ethics Limits in CLARITY Act

Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, became the first Senate Banking Republican to publicly demand ethics language in the bill, according to reports. The proposed language would limit how federal officials, including executive branch officials, may sponsor or issue digital assets.

The issue connects to concerns over crypto activity tied to President Donald Trump’s family businesses. Reports said Democratic negotiators have pushed for similar language as part of broader talks on the Senate bill.

Sen. Ruben Gallego said the bill cannot advance without bipartisan agreement on ethics provisions, according to reports. Sen. Adam Schiff, who has worked with Gallego in negotiations, said lawmakers had started narrowing differences after long talks.

Stablecoin Fight Also Slows Senate Timeline

The ethics fight adds to an existing dispute over stablecoin yield rules. Earlier reports said Tillis had already pushed the Senate Banking Committee to delay the CLARITY Act markup until May because lawmakers needed more time on stablecoin language.

That dispute centers on whether crypto platforms can offer rewards or yield linked to stablecoins. Banks have pushed for limits, while crypto firms have argued that rewards help them compete and attract users.

The Senate Banking Committee has not completed the markup. Reports published Tuesday said the April schedule has slipped, making May the next likely window for action on the crypto bill.