Senate Democrats seek conflict-of-interest safeguards in crypto market-structure bill

Democratic leaders on Senate committees considering crypto market-structure legislation are reportedly pushing for conflict-of-interest guardrails to bar elected officials from profiting from ties to crypto companies, Punchbowl News reported. According to the report, Senate Democrats including Adam Schiff and Ruben Gallego pressed for safeguards in the Republican-led Responsible Financial Innovation Act (RFIA), which would affect how US regulatory agencies and the government handle digital assets.

Gallego told Punchbowl that the ethics measures "are a red line," saying "they need to get it right, or they’re not going to have enough votes to pass this." The bill, which passed the House as the CLARITY Act, has been under Senate consideration since July amid debate over conflicts of interest, decentralized finance and other provisions, and was delayed by a 43-day government shutdown in October and November.

Drafts made public by the Senate Banking and Agriculture committees indicate RFIA could give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission more authority over digital assets. Some experts have speculated the 2026 midterm elections could influence support for the bill among Democrats. Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, an earlier supporter who led the effort on the Senate Banking Committee, announced she will not run for reelection in 2026 and will leave the Senate in January 2027.

Key Topics

Crypto, Rfia, Adam Schiff, Ruben Gallego, Cynthia Lummis, Cftc