Key facts
- Scaramucci said Democrats who had become more receptive to crypto regulation withdrew support after the memecoin launches.
- The CLARITY Act sought a federal regulatory framework for digital assets and faced disputes over ethics provisions.
- Scaramucci said lawmakers sought stronger ethics restrictions that the White House opposed, and that both sides share blame.
- Public Citizen estimated at least $4.7 billion in largely unrealized losses across Trump-related crypto ventures, including $3.2 billion tied to the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin.
- Public Citizen said Trump earned $635 million in memecoin licensing fees in 2025, citing his financial disclosure.
- Scaramucci said the SEC's approach under Chair Paul Atkins could help tokenization reach 'escape velocity.'
SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci said President Donald Trump's crypto business interests and memecoin launches cost the CLARITY Act Democratic support, derailing the legislation. Speaking with Cointelegraph at SALT London, Scaramucci said the memecoin launches shortly before Trump's January 2025 inauguration undermined bipartisan momentum for crypto regulation that followed the 2024 election.
Asked whether the memecoin activity was the sole reason the bill did not pass, Scaramucci replied: "Singular reason." He said Democrats who had become more receptive to crypto regulation withdrew their support after the launches. The remarks follow the Senate's failure on September 15 to advance the CLARITY Act, when a procedural motion received 49 votes in favor and 50 against, short of the 60 required. The bill sought to establish a federal regulatory framework for digital assets.
Scaramucci also pointed to disagreements over proposed ethics restrictions, saying lawmakers sought stronger provisions that the White House opposed. "I think it's the business interests, the memecoins," he said, adding that lawmakers were "trying to put real teeth into the ethics provision" but the White House did not want to sign it. "There's culpability on both sides for that deal not going forward," he said.
In July, five Democratic senators called for hearings into Trump's crypto holdings and potential conflicts of interest, citing concerns that his financial ties could influence crypto policy. House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill also acknowledged that Trump's crypto businesses had complicated efforts to pass legislation.
In August, Public Citizen estimated that investors 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 said Trump earned $635 million in memecoin licensing fees in 2025, citing his financial disclosure.
Despite the legislative setback, Scaramucci said the SEC's approach under Chair Paul Atkins could help tokenization reach "escape velocity," with enough adoption to make it difficult for a future SEC chair to stop or slow the industry. He said it was too early to know whether adoption would reach that point before the next administration.