The securities regulator’s crypto custody overhaul could clarify how investment advisers and funds hold digital assets for clients as the proposal moves through review. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is moving forward with plans to overhaul custody rules for investment advisers and investment companies, potentially giving institutions greater clarity on how they can hold crypto assets for clients while complying with federal securities rules. The proposed rule was sent on Aug. 25 to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), part of the White House Office of Management and Budget, for review before it can move back to the SEC and potentially be released for public comment. Read more
Patrick Witt says the Trump administration will keep negotiating with Democrats as the Senate prepares for a September CLARITY vote. US President Donald Trump’s administration remains committed to passing the CLARITY Act in September despite the Senate’s decision to delay action until after its August recess, according to the White House’s top crypto policy official. Patrick Witt, executive director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, said Tuesday on X that the administration would continue negotiating with Democrats “all the way up until the September vote,” adding, “we also can’t afford to wait forever.” The Senate is expected to hold a cloture vote on the bill in mid-September, a procedural step that would require 60 votes to advance CLARITY toward a final vote. Read more
The window to pass a comprehensive crypto market structure bill before the Senate breaks for a month-long recess is closing, with ethics a dividing issue for many lawmakers. Two US senators on opposite sides of the political aisle have reportedly sent revised ethics guidelines to the White House as part of discussions over a cryptocurrency market structure bill in Congress. According to a Thursday PunchBowl report, Senator Thom Tillis and Senator Ruben Gallego submitted a counteroffer to the Trump administration that included a change to ethics provisions in the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act. The changes would reportedly address concerns from many lawmakers in the first draft by allowing state authorities to enforce a ban on federal officials issuing or sponsoring tokens rather than the US Attorney General. Gallego, a Democrat, previously said that provisions around ethics, consumer protection, illicit finance, conflicts of interest and market integrity “must be strengthened” and he would continu...
US officials warn that Chinese firms conducting covert, industrial-scale AI distillation could face sanctions and export restrictions. A White House official accused Moonshot AI of distilling Anthropic’s Fable AI model to develop Kimi K3, which launched last week. In a post on X on Wednesday, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios alleged the Chinese AI firm developed an internal platform to distill US models at scale, using methods designed to evade detection. “Legitimate AI distillation used to create smaller, more efficient models plays a vital role in this open innovation ecosystem,” he said. “However, large-scale, covert industrial distillation aimed at stealing proprietary U.S. technology and undermining American research is unacceptable.” Read more
The price of Bitcoin moved above $66,000 to reach a seven-week high on Tuesday as reports circulated of a deal with the White House to address ethics in the CLARITY Act. The White House agreed to provisions in a crypto market structure bill that could ensure support from some Democratic lawmakers in the US Senate. According to a Tuesday Punchbowl report, White House officials met with Republican Senators Cynthia Lummis and Bernie Moreno to reach an agreement on ethics language in the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act under consideration in the Senate. Neither Lummis nor Moreno have publicly announced the details of the deal, which could facilitate Democratic support in what is expected to be a tight Senate vote, but the report suggested that it could affect US President Donald Trump’s crypto investments. Read more
Witt’s departure comes during a critical moment for the CLARITY Act, with deputy director Harry Jung expected to assume his responsibilities. Patrick Witt, the White House’s pointman on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, is taking a leave of absence at the end of July for several months of military training, Crypto In America reported. Witt, who has served as the executive director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets since August, is expected to wrap up his work on July 24 before reporting for Judge Advocate General (JAG) training with the Georgia Army National Guard. The training will qualify him to serve as a legal officer in the Guard, the report wrote. “Patrick has always been forthcoming and honest with every stakeholder that he was taking military leave later this month,” said Cody Carbone, CEO of Digital Chamber, on Tuesday. Read more
Both US financial regulators are understaffed at the leadership level and lacking Democratic commissioners, with no announcement from President Donald Trump on filling the roles. White House officials claimed that they had “not received names” in response to requests to Senate Democrats for potential commissioners to two US financial regulatory agencies. In a Thursday letter to US Senate majority leader John Thune and minority leader Chuck Schumer, White House officials said that they had already solicited names from Senate Democrats for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The leadership panels of both financial agencies are understaffed, with only Republican members nominated and confirmed by the Senate. The letter came in response to a June 10 request from 12 Senate Democrats over staffing concerns at US federal agencies, including the SEC and CFTC. Although US President Donald Trump has put forward some Democratic names for positions at agencies, in...
One of the developers behind the crypto-mixing protocol Samourai Wallet has publicly expressed hopes for a pardon, along with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. US President Donald Trump is reportedly considering pardoning 250 people to commemorate the country's 250th birthday on July 4, according to The Wall Street Journal. An official announcement could come on June 14, Trump's birthday, or during the Independence Day event on July 4, the WSJ reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. However, the pardons are still in the preliminary stages and have yet to be confirmed. More than 16,000 formal requests for presidential pardons were submitted last year. Read more