Anthony Scaramucci Says Trump’s Memecoin Ventures Derailed CLARITY Act

Anthony Scaramucci said U.S. President Donald Trump’s crypto business interests and memecoin launches undermined support for the CLARITY Act, contributing to the bill’s failure to advance. According to Cointelegraph, Scaramucci made the remarks during an interview at SALT London, saying the launches shortly before Trump’s January 2025 inauguration weakened bipartisan momentum for crypto regulation after the 2024 election. Asked whether the memecoin activity was the sole reason the bill did not pass, Scaramucci called it the “singular reason” and said Democrats who had become more receptive to crypto regulation withdrew their support following the launches. The Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act on Sept. 15, when a procedural motion received 49 votes in favor and 50 against, short of the 60 votes required. The bill sought to establish a federal regulatory framework for digital assets. Its consideration also involved disagreements over ethics provisions restricting government officials’ crypto interests and concerns about potential conflicts of interest related to Trump’s crypto holdings. Scaramucci said both sides shared responsibility for the bill’s failure, pointing to proposed ethics restrictions that lawmakers wanted to strengthen and the White House opposed. He said lawmakers were “trying to put real teeth into the ethics provision,” adding that the White House did not want to sign it. In July, five Democratic senators called for hearings into Trump’s crypto holdings and potential conflicts of interest, while House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill acknowledged that Trump’s crypto businesses had complicated efforts to pass legislation. In August, consumer advocacy group Public Citizen estimated investors had incurred at least $4.7 billion in largely unrealized losses across Trump-related crypto ventures, including $3.2 billion associated with the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin. The group also said Trump earned $635 million in memecoin licensing fees in 2025, citing his financial disclosure. Despite the setback, Scaramucci said the SEC’s approach under Chair Paul Atkins could help tokenization reach “escape velocity,” making the industry difficult for a future SEC chair to stop or slow. He said it was too early to know whether adoption would reach that point before the next administration.