Trump Backs Crypto Clarity Act And Warns Banks To Stand Down

President Donald Trump used the private Mar-a-Lago gathering on Saturday to publicly back the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act, warning bank lobbyists not to stand in the way of crypto legislation. 

Trump told attendees he would sign the bill immediately once it reaches his desk. Despite that support, the legislation remains stalled in the Senate, nearly nine months after the House passed it.

What Happened At The Mar-a-Lago Event?

The invite-only event was hosted for top holders of Trump's own memecoin, but the conversation quickly turned to policy. Trump took direct aim at traditional banks, saying the White House would not allow them to derail crypto market structure legislation.

The gathering drew a notable crowd. Attendees included Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, Ark Invest's Cathie Wood, Anchorage Digital CEO Nathan McCauley, and boxer Mike Tyson. Trump described the conference as "the most exclusive conference in the world."

The event has not been without criticism. Democratic lawmakers and outside observers have raised concerns about the overlap between Trump's personal crypto interests and his policy positions. His memecoin ties have become a specific sticking point in CLARITY Act negotiations, with Democratic negotiators pushing for a ban on senior government officials profiting from the digital asset industry.

What Is The CLARITY Act And What Does It Do?

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 was introduced by the House Committees on Financial Services and Agriculture in June 2024. It passed the House with strong bipartisan backing and moved to the Senate Banking Committee, where it has faced repeated delays.

The bill has several core functions:

• It splits regulatory jurisdiction between the CFTC and the SEC. The CFTC would oversee digital commodities, while the SEC would regulate investment contract assets, meaning tokens sold through securities offerings.
• It targets DeFi (decentralized finance) by placing rules on centralized intermediaries rather than software developers or decentralized protocols themselves.
• It creates a framework for stablecoin regulation, which remains the bill's most contested section.

Banking groups have lobbied against the stablecoin provisions, arguing that yield-bearing stablecoins could draw deposits away from traditional bank accounts. That opposition has won over several senators and has been the primary cause of Senate delays.

Where Does The Bill Stand Now?

The Senate Banking Committee did not schedule a markup hearing before the end of last week, a milestone the industry had widely expected. That absence has pushed realistic timelines into May.

Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz offered a specific forecast on a podcast with SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci. He said the bill will likely go to committee in the first week of May and could reach Trump's desk for signing as early as June. He described the legislation as a bipartisan priority, noting it would allow large institutions like SpaceX and Google to be tokenized and offered to investors worldwide.

Galaxy's head of research, Alex Thorn, puts the odds of passage in 2026 at around 50% and has warned that if the bill fails to advance past markup by mid-May, those odds drop sharply.

House Financial Services Chair French Hill said on Friday that many of the outstanding issues around stablecoin sales practices and DeFi provisions were already resolved in the House version. He suggested the Senate has been drawing heavily on that work, which could speed up remaining steps.

Conclusion: 

Trump's public backing adds political weight to the CLARITY Act, but the Senate remains the obstacle. The bill splits crypto oversight between the CFTC and SEC, targets DeFi intermediaries, and sets stablecoin rules that banks continue to contest. The first week of May is now the most closely watched point on the legislative calendar.

Resources

1. Report by The Washington Post: Top buyers of Trump meme coin join Mike Tyson, others at lavish Mar-a-Lago event

2. Report by CoinDesk: Trump defends crypto legislation at private event featuring boxer Mike Tyson, Tether CEO

3. Podcast by SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci

4. Report by Galaxy: CLARITY Act Update: Final Push Ahead

5. Report by Crypto in America Primary reporting on Senate Banking Committee timing, Warsh hearing collision, and bank lobbying campaign details