President Donald Trump convened cryptocurrency and traditional-finance executives in the Oval Office on Wednesday as his administration seeks to move the Clarity Act toward a Senate procedural vote scheduled for Sept. 15, with supporters aiming to advance the market-structure bill as early as next month.
The private meeting followed a public appearance with technology leaders and federal agency chairs, where Trump said regulators were working to bring Hyperliquid’s operations onshore and called on Congress to pass what he described as a “fair version” of the Clarity Act. The administration’s outreach places major trading venues, blockchain infrastructure firms, and established financial-market operators in the same policy conversation as senators negotiate the bill’s remaining political obstacles.
A full attendee list for the Oval Office session was not released. Executives appearing at the earlier press conference included Adena Friedman, chief executive of Nasdaq; Vlad Tenev, chief executive of Robinhood; Jeffrey Sprecher, chief executive of Intercontinental Exchange; and Brad Garlinghouse, chief executive of Ripple.
Sergey Nazarov, co-founder of Chainlink, said he attended the private meeting and that the discussion focused on the Clarity Act, the feedback lawmakers and officials were seeking, and the practical steps required to secure passage. Nazarov said ethics rules governing public officials’ involvement with digital assets were not discussed in the room.
Senate vote approaches amid unresolved disputes
The Clarity Act has been under Senate consideration for roughly a year. It is intended to establish federal rules for the cryptocurrency industry, though the supplied details do not specify its final regulatory framework or how responsibilities would be divided among federal agencies.
Its path has become entangled with issues beyond market structure. Lawmakers have debated stablecoin rewards, illicit-finance safeguards, and restrictions on public officials and their families launching or sponsoring digital assets. Those debates are especially sensitive because of questions surrounding Trump’s financial links to cryptocurrency ventures, including World Liberty Financial and a memecoin.
The administration’s decision to bring industry executives into the White House suggests it is seeking support from companies that would operate under the proposed framework, while also building momentum before the September Senate timeline. Firms represented at the public event span stock-market infrastructure, retail brokerage, digital-asset payments and blockchain oracle services, giving the discussion a broader scope than a meeting limited to crypto-native companies.
A successful procedural vote would not settle the legislation’s most contentious questions. It would instead move the Senate closer to a debate over provisions that could determine how digital-asset businesses structure products, register operations, and manage compliance in the United States.
Ethics provisions remain a difficult congressional issue
In July, Trump agreed to an ethics provision that would prohibit public officials, government employees, and their spouses from issuing or sponsoring digital assets. Under that version of the proposal, the Justice Department would enforce the restriction rather than state attorneys general, and the ban would expire in January 2029.
A separate proposal under consideration from Senators Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat, and Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, would give state attorneys general authority to enforce a similar prohibition. The disagreement over enforcement carries practical consequences: a federal-only system would centralize oversight in Washington, while a state enforcement role could expose officials and associated entities to action from multiple jurisdictions.
Nazarov said the ethics issue did not arise during the Oval Office conversation, indicating that the meeting was directed toward vote-counting and industry feedback rather than resolving a politically charged dispute. Yet the question remains closely tied to the bill’s prospects, as lawmakers weighing the Clarity Act must also address concerns over conflicts of interest involving public officeholders with digital-asset businesses.
The White House, ICE, Robinhood, and Nasdaq did not respond to requests for comment described in the supplied report. Gemini declined to comment.
Bitcoin reserve also raised in private discussion
Nazarov said a strategic Bitcoin reserve was mentioned during the meeting, though he did not provide details on potential next steps. The concept has previously been described as relying largely on Bitcoin already held by the U.S. government through criminal and civil forfeiture proceedings, alongside a separate stockpile for other digital assets.
Using seized holdings would avoid requiring a new federal Bitcoin purchasing program, but it would leave major policy questions open, including custody arrangements, accounting treatment, rules governing future sales, and the relationship between any reserve and assets subject to ongoing legal proceedings.
The reserve discussion also connects the White House’s legislative effort with a separate debate over how the federal government should treat digital assets already in its possession. A formal reserve policy could give agencies a longer-term holding mandate rather than leaving disposition decisions primarily to forfeiture and asset-management processes.
Trump’s public call to onshore Hyperliquid adds another dimension. Hyperliquid operates in the fast-growing market for crypto derivatives, where trading activity can occur through platforms with limited direct ties to U.S. regulatory structures. Bringing such activity within a U.S. framework would require decisions on licensing, market surveillance, customer protections, and the treatment of decentralized trading systems.
The White House meetings do not resolve those questions, but they show the administration pressing for a legislative package that can accommodate both established financial institutions and crypto platforms before the Senate’s Sept. 15 procedural vote.
Wondering what a U.S. bitcoin reserve and Clarity Act could mean? Explore our detailed breakdown in this bitcoin strategic reserve guide.
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