Bipartisan Ethics Proposal Would Require Trump Crypto Divestment While Enabling Tax Deferrals

Breaking the Legislative Impasse on Crypto Regulation

Lawmakers are reportedly advancing a bipartisan ethics proposal designed to overcome a significant obstacle blocking passage of the crypto market structure bill in Congress. According to Bloomberg reporting, the ethics addendum would require US President Donald Trump to divest from his crypto-related business interests. The proposal reportedly includes a provision permitting him to defer capital gains taxes on those required sales—potentially resulting in tax savings measured in millions of dollars.

Democratic opposition has centered on concerns about Trump’s substantial financial conflicts of interest regarding cryptocurrency, creating a roadblock for the comprehensive market-structure legislation. The ethics addendum represents a negotiated compromise intended to address these concerns and enable legislative progress. However, the tax-deferral component could become another point of contention for lawmakers concerned that it may undercut the original purpose of conflict-of-interest safeguards.

The proposal has not yet been made public, with its full details remaining known only to those involved in the negotiations. The White House declined to provide immediate comment when Cointelegraph reached out for response.

The Scale of Trump’s Crypto Business Revenue

Trump’s annual financial disclosure for 2025, released in late June, reveals the substantial scope of his crypto-related ventures and their contribution to his income. The disclosure showed approximately $1.4 billion in annual income generated across various cryptocurrency businesses.

The Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin generated the largest single revenue stream, bringing in roughly $635 million in income described as “royalties” from a licensing agreement with Celebration Coins. The president’s family’s decentralized finance platform, World Liberty Financial, ranked as the second-largest income source, contributing approximately $588 million from token sale proceeds.

Trump’s financial records also documented $197 in earnings from the sale of an equity stake in a stablecoin venture. Entities affiliated with Trump and his family members maintain significant ownership positions in these platforms—public filings indicate that DT Marks DEFI LLC, an entity controlled by Trump and certain family members, holds roughly 38% of the equity interests in World Liberty’s parent company.

Regulatory Clarity and Market Impact

The proposed ethics framework operates at the intersection of two critical issues for the crypto industry: managing conflicts of interest at the highest levels of government and providing regulatory clarity for the broader digital asset market. Delays in passing comprehensive market-structure legislation have left the cryptocurrency industry without clear regulatory guardrails. Successfully negotiating this ethics provision could unblock Congressional progress and accelerate the development of clearer regulatory frameworks for digital asset businesses operating within traditional market structures.

The specifics of how the divestment and tax deferral would operate—including implementation timelines, the scope of affected businesses, and the terms of any deferral—remain undisclosed. Breaking this legislative impasse could unlock regulatory clarity that benefits the entire crypto ecosystem, including established platforms and projects.

Source: Bloomberg, via Cointelegraph. Not financial advice.