On July 30, minority staffers of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs released a new analysis, reiterating Democratic objections ahead of a potential Senate vote. The staffers argue that restrictions targeting officials who issue or sponsor digital assets will preserve Trump's existing business arrangements and allow for the creation of similarly structured enterprises.
The new analysis separately examines Trump's reported sources of cryptocurrency income, including World Liberty Financial, the $TRUMP memecoin, cryptocurrency investments, staking revenue, and other ventures. It concludes that each would remain permissible under the proposed ethics rules, asserting that the revised ethics provision would do little to affect these financial schemes.
Senate Banking Committee minority staff said after reviewing the revised bill language:
"Any updated ethics provision must close these massive loopholes."
The new review expands on the committee minority's previous criticism, which had identified five alleged loopholes allowing Trump to continue profiting from cryptocurrencies under the CLARITY Act. It argues that intermediaries, licensing agreements, third-party issuers, and family-affiliated organizations could channel revenue to Trump without him being the formal issuer or sponsor.
Staffers calculated revenue from World Liberty Financial at approximately $799 million and from the $TRUMP memecoin at $635 million, accounting for nearly all cryptocurrency revenue identified in their analysis. In their ethics summary of the CLARITY Act, they broke down World Liberty's income into governance token proceeds, stablecoin revenue, stock sales, and crypto assets held through linked entities.
Report Details Memecoin Royalties and Token Sale Proceeds
Trump's annual financial disclosure lists $635.1 million in royalties from a licensing agreement with Celebration Coins, linked to CIC Digital LLC. The filing also notes Bitcoin and Ether wallets each valued over $50 million, as well as validator rewards earned through staking agreements with Coinbase.
Records linked to World Liberty include hundreds of millions from token sales, $65.6 million from stock sales, and additional proceeds linked to wallets. Combined with memecoin royalties and direct crypto asset holdings, these records comprised approximately $1.4 billion of Trump's crypto income in 2025, as calculated by Senate minority staff.
Minority staffers argue that qualified "blind trusts" would allow the financial value of directly held stakes to be retained while separating formal managerial duties. Their analysis of the proposed cryptocurrency ethics compromise also points to continued use of name, image, or likeness, investments in digital assets, and official policy-making authority as separate channels of financial risk.
Revised Bill Text Defines Limits and Exemptions
The Senate's draft "CLARITY Act" bill prohibits covered officials and their spouses from issuing or sponsoring digital assets for compensation during certain periods. It also contains provisions concerning qualified "blind trusts," unauthorized third-party activity, continued use of an official's likeness, and holding digital assets as investments.
Previously, seven Democratic senators advocated for stronger provisions addressing elected official ethics, consumer protection, illicit financing, conflicts of interest, and market integrity. The July 30 analysis raises these previously stated objections again, arguing that the revised language leaves core financial mechanisms unchanged after Democrats rejected the CLARITY Act draft bill.
Another key point of contention remains enforcement: minority staffers object to exclusive federal jurisdiction and a provision that terminates enforcement after the relevant official leaves office. Proponents argue federal enforcement aligns with existing ethics law structures, while Democrats are pushing for additional mechanisms to address presidential crypto-related conflicts of interest and enforcement challenges.
Reports of White House approval for an ethics package within the CLARITY Act revived discussions of the bill after negotiations stalled over provisions concerning presidential conflicts of interest and enforcement. The new findings from minority staff intensify this unresolved dispute, leaving senators to determine whether the outlined constraints can secure the bipartisan support needed for final passage.
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