Clarity Act Stalls as Warren Seeks SEC Probe of Trump Memecoin

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal have asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate President Donald Trump’s $TRUMP memecoin, according to CoinDesk. The request landed as Senate negotiators wait for the White House to respond to revised ethics language in the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, a crypto market structure bill whose progress is now uncertain.

The issue matters because the Clarity Act is intended to set clearer rules for digital asset markets, but its path through the Senate is being shaped by a politically sensitive question: how far Congress should go in restricting senior government officials from direct involvement in crypto projects. Without an agreement strong enough to attract Democratic support, the bill could face defeat if Senate leaders move ahead with a vote.

Warren and Blumenthal asked SEC Chair Paul Atkins to examine investor losses tied to $TRUMP. Citing Trump’s financial disclosure, the senators said the president made $636 million from the token, while nearly a million investors experienced an estimated $3.8 billion in losses. CoinDesk reported that the token had traded above $46 at its peak before falling to $1.47, with temporary price spikes around dinner-related announcements involving Trump.

The SEC has already taken the position that memecoins are generally outside its securities oversight, saying earlier in the Trump administration that they typically have limited or no functionality and do not meet the legal test for securities. That makes the senators’ request politically significant, though CoinDesk noted it may be unlikely to produce major regulatory action.

The ethics provision remains the key obstacle for the Clarity Act. Trump has reportedly accepted a narrow limit, but Democrats rejected that approach and pushed for stronger restrictions. Senators Thom Tillis and Ruben Gallego negotiated a tougher version and sent it to the White House last week, but the administration had not responded days later, according to CoinDesk.