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Patrick Witt, Executive Director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, has delayed his military training with the Georgia Army National Guard to lead White House negotiations on the CLARITY Act. With the Senate entering recess on August 8, this period is seen as crucial for advancing the bill, which aims to establish clear regulatory rules for the digital asset market in the United States. This marks the second time Witt has postponed his military service for this purpose. His role as the administration's lead negotiator has gained increased importance following the impending departure of Deputy Director Harry Jung, ensuring leadership continuity during critical legislative efforts. The White House is prioritizing the passage of this significant cryptocurrency regulation before the Senate break.

On July 21st, industry sources reported that the Trump administration has agreed to include an ethics provision in the "Clarity Act" (Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025). This concession addresses the long-standing conflict-of-interest concerns regarding government officials and the crypto industry, potentially removing the final major obstacle to the bill's progress. Additionally, Patrick Witt, the executive director of the White House's Digital Asset Advisory Committee, confirmed he will remain in his role to help finalize the bill, alleviating previous concerns about his potential departure. The Clarity Act aims to establish a unified federal regulatory framework for the U.S. digital asset market. Its core objective is to resolve regulatory ambiguity by defining different types of digital assets (digital commodities, investment contract assets, and permitted payment stablecoins) and clarifying the respective oversight roles of the SEC and CFTC. This would end the long-running jurisdictional dispute between the two agencies and provide clearer compliance paths for the industry. With the ethics issue moving toward resolution, the most urgent challenge now is time. The U.S. Congress is set to begin its August recess in mid-August, leaving only a few working weeks to finalize the text and advance the bill through the Senate. Industry advocates, like the Blockchain Association's Kristin Smith, stress that this is a critical moment. If negotiations conclude successfully in the coming weeks, the Clarity Act could pass a key hurdle before the recess; otherwise, it may face significant delays. If enacted, the Clarity Act could mark a historic turning point in crypto regulation. By providing a clearer and more predictable legal framework, it aims to reduce uncertainty for businesses, developers, and traditional financial institutions looking to enter the digital asset space, potentially setting a global benchmark for market structure regulation.

The CLARITY Act, a key crypto market structure bill, has cleared a major hurdle after the White House agreed with Republican senators on an ethics provision. This agreement follows concerns raised by Democrats regarding potential conflicts of interest in the industry. However, full details of the deal are not yet public, and Democrats have not yet formally reviewed it. For the bill to pass the Senate, it will require support from several Democratic senators to reach the necessary 60-vote threshold. Despite this progress, market expectations, as indicated by prediction sites, suggest the bill is more likely to pass in early 2027 rather than before the end of 2026. The urgency for U.S. legislation is underscored by other jurisdictions like the EU and the UK finalizing their own crypto frameworks, with White House advisor Patrick Witt urging Congress to act.

The White House is embroiled in another insider trading scandal, this time involving a teleprompter operator for former President Trump. Gabriel Perez, a longtime aide who controlled Trump's speech teleprompters, used his advance knowledge of speech content to profit over $100,000 on prediction markets like Kalshi by betting on which specific words Trump would mention. After Kalshi's monitoring systems flagged suspicious trading activity and froze his funds, the case was referred to the CFTC. Perez was suspended without pay by Trump, who called his actions "disgusting." Unlike previous insiders prosecuted in similar cases, Perez faced no criminal charges, only a CFTC settlement requiring him to return profits and cease such trading. The article highlights how "mention" markets are uniquely vulnerable to manipulation by insiders or even the speakers themselves, citing examples like a Grammy host jokingly saying a random word and a Coinbase CEO reading all prediction market options aloud. As prediction markets like Kalshi tighten compliance—such as requiring users to disclose employers—the piece argues this crackdown on insider trading, while promoting regulatory compliance, may move these markets further from "collective wisdom" and closer to being pure gambling venues.

"White House Speech Prompt Operator Earns Over $100,000 Using Insider Information on Prediction Markets" U.S. White House staffer Gabriel Perez, a long-time teleprompter operator for former President Donald Trump, has been suspended without pay for using non-public information to profit on prediction markets. As one of the few individuals with advance access to Trump's prepared speech texts, Perez placed bets on specific words or phrases Trump would mention in speeches over a three-month period, earning over $100,000. His activities were flagged by the prediction platform Kalshi, which froze over $90,000 in his account and reported him to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). While Perez avoided criminal charges, he is required to return his profits and cease such trading. This case marks the third major instance of insider trading on prediction markets involving government or corporate insiders, following earlier cases involving a special forces soldier and a Google engineer. The incident highlights the vulnerability of "mention" markets on prediction platforms, where individuals with advance knowledge or even the speakers themselves can easily manipulate outcomes. In response, platforms like Kalshi are tightening rules, now requiring users to disclose their employers to help prevent similar abuses.