U.S. President Donald Trump urged Congress to pass legislation aimed at establishing clearer rules for the cryptocurrency industry. It’s a top priority for industry executives, who had gathered and spoke alongside the president for an event at the White House on Wednesday.
Trump, who has earned more than $1.4 billion from his family's crypto ventures, urged lawmakers to pass a "fair version of the Clarity Act," a bill that crypto companies say would put them on solid legal ground, but has stalled in the Senate with little time left on the congressional calendar.
Several top crypto executives, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev and Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi, along with Intercontinental Exchange CEO Jeffrey Sprecher, spoke alongside Trump at the event.
Also in attendance were Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Mike Selig, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins and White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt.
"Now we need Congress to take the next step by passing the Clarity Act, a fair version of the Clarity Act," Trump said in remarks at the event.
The Republican president has pursued crypto-friendly policies since returning to office in January 2025. But the sweeping crypto legislation that the industry wants has not yet passed Congress.
The Clarity Act aims to define which tokens qualify as securities versus commodities, and which agencies have oversight of the sector. Without legislation, regulations remain vulnerable to shifting political winds and court challenges, a lingering hazard for the industry, according to executives and analysts.
The SEC on Tuesday proposed long-awaited rules that would exempt certain token offerings from securities regulations, making it easier for crypto companies to issue tokens and raise money. The CFTC is scheduled to discuss crypto regulation, among other issues, at an industry gathering on Thursday.
However, many Democrats and some Republicans say they will not support the legislation without stronger provisions preventing government officials, including Trump, from profiting from their own cryptocurrency ventures.
A recent poll found that a majority of Americans believe Trump and his family have inappropriately profited from the crypto sector since his return to power and that his policy decisions are influenced by his private business dealings, which include World Liberty Financial and the Trump meme coin.
Trump has denied having any day-to-day involvement in his family’s business, saying his investments are managed independently. The White House has rejected allegations of any impropriety.
