# Ethics Concerns Could Tank the Clarity Act

*Author: David Christopher*
*Published: Apr 27, 2026*
*Source: https://www.bankless.com/de/read/news/ethics-concerns-could-tank-the-clarity-act*

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Republican [Senator Thom Tillis](https://www.theblock.co/post/399044/sen-tillis-latest-roadblock-crypto-bill-ethics-provisions-td-cowen) has threatened to vote against the Clarity Act unless it includes conflict-of-interest provisions, adding a new complication to the crypto bill already faced with significant headwinds. 

### **What's the Scoop?**
- **Why It's a Problem:** The ethics provisions Tillis is pushing would likely apply to the Trump family's crypto business interests, making them politically difficult to pass. 
- **Tillis's Leverage:** Tillis has a notable influence over the Clarity Act's outcome. He was a central negotiator on the stablecoin yield issue and last week asked the Senate Banking Committee to delay a markup, essentially a signed-off revision, on the bill until May. Investment Bank TD Cowen noted Tillis recently won a standoff with Trump over the Federal Reserve, suggesting he may be emboldened to stand his ground.
- **The Conflict-of-Interest Bind:** Crafting ethics provisions that satisfy Tillis and Democrats without affecting Trump's existing crypto interests is a narrow needle to thread. Applying rules only *after* the next presidential inauguration would sidestep the Trump family issue, but TD Cowen said Democrats and Tillis are unlikely to accept that approach.

### Bankless Take
In recent weeks, progress for the Clarity Act has continued to stall over the subject of "yield" - among others - missing its informal April 25 deadline. [Prediction market odds](https://polymarket.com/event/clarity-act-signed-into-law-in-2026) are sliding, and a [recent Galaxy report](https://www.galaxy.com/insights/research/clarity-act-update-final-push) puts passage at roughly a coin flip. 

Up until now, questions of ethics have been primarily a hangup for Democrats. [As Politico calls out](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/27/trump-family-senate-crypto-bill-ethics-00889320), Tillis marks the first Republican-voiced objection rooted in Trump family conflicts of interest. That's a harder problem to paper over. If ethics provisions make it into the bill, Trump's willingness to sign it becomes an open question.
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