Trump crypto income intensifies fight over digital assets bill
Democrats are pressing for ethics limits in the CLARITY Act after filings showed Trump-linked crypto entities earned $1.4 billion in 2025.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
2 min read
President Donald Trump’s reported crypto income has become a new flashpoint in Congress as lawmakers try to advance a major digital assets bill. Fortune reported that financial disclosure documents showed crypto business entities tied to Trump and his family brought in $1.4 billion in income in 2025, sharpening Democratic demands for ethics restrictions in the legislation.
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., accused Trump on social media of “blatantly profiteering off the presidency.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and other Democrats have also pressed for tighter conflict-of-interest language as the Senate works on the CLARITY Act, according to Fortune.
Anna Kelly, a White House spokeswoman, rejected the conflict-of-interest criticism. “Neither the president nor his family has ever engaged—or will ever engage—in conflicts of interest,” Kelly told Fortune.
Ethics fight shadows CLARITY Act talks
The CLARITY Act is one of the crypto industry’s top priorities because it would set rules for how digital assets are regulated. Fortune reported that the bill would help determine when a cryptocurrency should be treated as a security and when a token should be treated as a commodity.
The measure follows the GENIUS Act, which Trump signed into law in 2025. Fortune reported that GENIUS created a regulatory structure for stablecoins, the tokens designed to track the value of real-world assets such as the U.S. dollar.
The House passed its version of CLARITY in 2025, according to Fortune. In the Senate, the bill has cleared markup in the Agriculture and Banking committees, but supporters still need 60 votes to pass it.
Democrats are seeking an ethics provision that would bar the president, his family and associates from making money from crypto businesses, Fortune reported. That issue has repeatedly complicated negotiations over the bill.
Talks continue despite new pressure
One person close to crypto policy talks on Capitol Hill told Fortune that Trump’s disclosure could strengthen Democrats’ case for an ethics agreement. The person requested anonymity to discuss the negotiations candidly.
The same person said staff-level talks were continuing and that the bill was still progressing, even with Congress in recess, according to Fortune. Another person close to discussions on the Hill told Fortune there was no sign that the financial disclosures had changed the talks, saying ethics provisions were expected to be handled late in negotiations.
The timing is tight. Fortune reported that backers still want a deal before the political calendar becomes harder, with midterm elections approaching and Republicans’ hold on Congress seen as vulnerable.
“The remaining three weeks in July,” the second person close to the talks told Fortune, “are critical.”
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.