Senators are trying again to nudge President Donald Trump to sign off on revised ethics language, which is being viewed as the main blocker in getting the sweeping Clarity Act cryptocurrency legislation passed into law. 

A fresh compromise from Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., was sent to the White House on Thursday morning, a source familiar told The Block. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It is unclear what exactly is in that compromise. 

Over the past year, Democrats have demanded stronger language to address Trump’s crypto interests, including a memecoin he launched before Inauguration Day and his family’s involvement in World Liberty Financial. Financial disclosures released last month revealed that Trump received millions of dollars tied to WLF. 

The draft released last week, with Trump's sign-off, has language that bars public officials and their spouses from issuing or sponsoring digital assets but does not cover other family members. It also gives enforcement authority to the Justice Department and includes a sunset clause that would expire the restrictions in January 2029. 

That sunset clause "kills the whole ethics provision entirely," a person familiar with Capitol Hill negotiations told The Block last week. The language says that as long as Trump is president, his attorney general would be in charge of enforcing the provision, and that would be current acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. Blanche was also previously Trump's personal attorney. 

"So just looking at Todd Blanche, it is unlikely that Blanche would bring an enforcement action before the sunset. With the sunset, it means no new lawsuits could be brought after," the source said. 

Time is ticking

It's crunch time in the Senate to get the Clarity Act through its chamber before they go on recess on Aug. 7. The bill is also competing for time with other legislative measures and faces an uphill battle in getting the 60 votes needed to pass — making it unlikely to get a floor vote before the end of next week. 

In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune laid out his priorities, including funding the government, getting through a package of nominations, and potentially the Clarity Act, but that could be in the form of a procedural-type vote first. 

Democrats have voiced opposition to the bill until there is an ethics provision in place that goes far enough to block conflicts of interest. But the bill also faces opposition from some Republicans as well.

On Thursday, Punchbowl News' Brendan Pedersen reported that some have concerns around stablecoin rewards — which allow users to earn interest on deposited funds. That has continued to receive intense pushback from banks who say it would draw deposits away from traditional banks, while crypto industry folks have argued they are trying to hamper innovation.  

Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent took to X on Thursday to put the blame on Democrats for the bill not getting passed. 

"It’s disappointing — but not surprising — that Senate Democrats are choosing politics on the cusp of a major victory for American leadership," Bessent said in the post. "Find another instance in history where Congress, when given the choice, opted to push an industry out of the United States rather than smartly regulate it." 

Not passing the bill could have major implications, said Crypto Council for Innovation in a report on Thursday. The group pointed to other countries that have laid out clear regulations for crypto, including the European Union, with the majority of centralized crypto exchange trading happening outside of the U.S.

"A failure to act now will cede the United States' historic leadership of market regulation and innovation to other jurisdictions and will threaten U.S. dollar dominance," CCI said.