Scaramucci says Trump crypto ventures derailed U.S. CLARITY Act

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Scaramucci on Trump crypto CLARITY

Debate over U.S. crypto regulation remains stalled after a key Senate vote failed to move the CLARITY Act forward in September. Anthony Scaramucci says Donald Trump’s memecoin launches and wider crypto business interests weakened Democratic backing for the bill after the 2024 election.

Highlights

Anthony Scaramucci states that Trump's memecoin launches before his January 2025 inauguration directly led to the CLARITY Act's failure in the Senate.
The Senate voted 49–50 on the CLARITY Act on Sept. 15, falling short of 60 votes, as ethics provisions and Trump's crypto interests sparked bipartisan disputes.
Public Citizen estimates investors have $4.7 billion in unrealized losses from Trump-linked crypto—including $3.2 billion from the TRUMP memecoin—while Trump earned $635 million in licensing fees in 2025.

Scaramucci links memecoins to legislative setback

The Senate did not advance the CLARITY Act on Sept. 15 after a procedural motion drew 49 votes in favor and 50 against, short of the 60 votes needed. The bill is designed to create a federal regulatory framework for digital assets, but it faces disputes over ethics provisions that would limit crypto interests held by government officials.

Scaramucci also says the White House resisted stronger ethics language that lawmakers wanted to include. He adds that both political parties share responsibility for the collapse of the deal.

Ethics concerns cloud broader crypto policy outlook

In August, consumer advocacy group Public Citizen estimates that investors have taken at least $4.7 billion in largely unrealized losses across Trump-linked crypto ventures, including $3.2 billion tied to the Official Trump, TRUMP, memecoin. The group also says Trump earned $635 million in memecoin licensing fees in 2025, citing his financial disclosure.

Despite the setback for the bill, Scaramucci says the SEC’s stance under Chair Paul Atkins could still help tokenization reach what he calls "escape velocity" through broader market adoption. He says it is still too early to know whether that level of adoption will be reached before the next administration.

Our earlier coverage of the Federal Reserve’s internal debate over policy messaging examined how officials’ public remarks can quickly reshape investor expectations ahead of key decisions. We noted that after September’s CPI print, a stream of comments from Fed policymakers tempered markets’ rate-hike bets, underscoring how narratives and credibility can influence outcomes alongside the underlying data.