Bernstein says ethics and stablecoin changes could boost support for CLARITY Act

Wall Street research firm Bernstein is flagging a meaningful shift in the political calculus surrounding the CLARITY Act, the sweeping digital asset regulatory bill headed for a Senate cloture vote. Analysts led by Gautam Chhugani argue that new ethics provisions and stablecoin concessions embedded in the final draft could peel off enough Democratic votes to push the legislation forward. The updated bill runs 635 pages and incorporates 126 substantive changes that Democrats specifically requested. That’s a lot of red ink for a piece of legislation that already cleared the Senate Banking Committee on a 15-9 bipartisan vote back in May 2026. Ethics rules take center stage The most politically charged addition draws from the Tillis-Gallego proposal and targets something Democrats have hammered on for months: the appearance of conflicts of interest at the highest levels of government. Under the new framework, senior officials, including presidents-elect, would be barred from retaining significant equity interests valued at $15,000 or more in businesses that issue tokens. The only exceptions involve full divestment or parking assets in a blind trust. Stablecoin yield gets a circuit brea...