Ethics Amendments Target Official Crypto Profits
US Democratic Senators filed several amendments to crypto market structure legislation on Friday, with a particular focus on preventing government officials from profiting from the cryptocurrency industry. The amendments come ahead of the Senate Agriculture Committee’s markup session scheduled for this Tuesday.
One of the most significant proposals comes from Senator Michael Bennet, who wants to include the Digital Asset Ethics Act in the broader market structure bill. This measure would specifically address conflicts of interest involving US officials who might benefit financially from the crypto sector.
I think this move reflects growing concerns among Democrats about potential ethical issues. Senator Elizabeth Warren and others have been vocal about President Donald Trump’s alleged connections to the crypto industry. They point to his involvement with the World Liberty Financial crypto platform, which reportedly increased his net worth by hundreds of millions of dollars.
CFTC Commissioner Requirement Added
Another amendment, proposed by Senator Amy Klobuchar, seeks to delay the bill’s implementation until the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has a full set of commissioners. The CFTC currently operates with only Chair Michael Selig, who was sworn in on December 22. There’s no clear timeline for when the remaining four commissioner positions will be filled.
This requirement makes practical sense, I suppose. Having a complete commission would ensure proper oversight once the new regulations take effect. But it could also create delays if the appointment process drags on.
Additional Provisions and Potential Delays
Other amendments include proposals from Senators Roger Marshall, Dick Durbin, and Peter Welch to incorporate the Credit Card Competition Act. This would prevent credit card networks and certain financial institutions from requiring network exclusivity on credit cards.
The Tuesday markup session follows a previous postponement on January 15. That delay resulted from disputes over stablecoin rewards restrictions and other decentralized finance provisions. Those disagreements were significant enough that Coinbase, a major industry player, withdrew its support for the legislation.
Now there’s another potential complication. An incoming snowstorm predicted to hit Washington DC over the weekend might push the markup back again. Weather disruptions aren’t uncommon in congressional scheduling, but they add another layer of uncertainty to an already complex legislative process.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect here is how ethics concerns have become central to the crypto regulation debate. It’s not just about market structure or investor protection anymore. The conversation has expanded to include questions about who benefits from the industry’s growth and whether government officials should have financial stakes in the sector they’re regulating.
The legislation itself aims to provide greater clarity on federal rules for digital assets, define agency oversight responsibilities, and bring regulatory certainty to investors and market participants. But these new amendments show that the path forward involves more than just technical regulatory questions.
It’s worth watching how these ethics provisions might affect the bill’s overall prospects. Some might see them as necessary safeguards, while others could view them as political maneuvers that complicate an already challenging legislative effort. Either way, they’ve become part of the conversation now.
