Senator Thom Tillis has warned he will oppose the Senate’s crypto market structure bill unless it includes binding ethics rules on how White House officials engage with digital assets.

According to Politico, Tillis said he would withdraw his support for the legislation if it advances without such provisions, adding that his role in negotiations could quickly turn into outright opposition.

“There has to be ethics language in the bill before it leaves the Senate, or I’ll go from one of the people working on negotiating it to voting against it,” he said.

Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego echoed that stance, telling Politico that movement on the bill depends on a cross-party agreement around ethics safeguards.

“There is no final bill — there is no final movement — unless there is a bipartisan agreement when it comes to the ethics provision,” he said.

Serving on the Senate Banking Committee, Tillis holds influence over the bill’s path through the chamber, where progress has already slowed by disputes over stablecoin yield rules and oversight design.

The House passed its version, the CLARITY Act, in July, dividing regulatory authority between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Ongoing talks have now widened to include conflict-of-interest concerns tied to political involvement in crypto markets.

Democratic lawmakers have pointed to the Trump family’s expanding crypto ventures as a reason to tighten restrictions within the bill.

Earlier proposals from Democrats have called for limits on federal officials promoting or issuing digital assets.

Senator Adam Schiff told Politico that discussions, after months of stalled progress, are beginning to narrow differences as other parts of the legislation fall into place.

“We’re making progress,” he said, adding that negotiations had recently gained traction after a prolonged deadlock.

Schiff has previously said Democrats are pushing for a ban covering all federal employees, including the president, from sponsoring or endorsing digital assets, citing concerns tied to existing politically linked token projects.

Work on the Senate bill has already been shaped by parallel efforts led by Tillis and Senator Angela Alsobrooks, who have been drafting language to address stablecoin yield payments, a separate point of contention between banks and crypto firms.

Politico reported earlier in April that the two lawmakers were attempting to settle disagreements over whether platforms should offer interest on idle stablecoin balances.

While negotiations continue, lawmakers have not disclosed the final wording for the proposed ethics provisions, leaving the bill’s timeline uncertain as it moves through committee review.

Days before raising concerns over the crypto bill, Tillis had moved to support the Federal Reserve leadership transition after the Department of Justice dropped its investigation into Jerome Powell.

According to reports cited earlier, Tillis said he was “prepared to move on with the confirmation” of Kevin Warsh, clearing the way for a Senate Banking Committee vote after months of holding up the process.

The Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to vote on Warsh’s nomination, with a full Senate vote expected ahead of Powell’s term ending on May 15, placing Tillis at the centre of both the Fed transition and the ongoing debate over crypto market rules.

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