Senate Blocks Clarity Act in Tight Procedural Vote

Overview

• A procedural roll-call to open floor consideration of the Clarity Act failed 49–50 on Tuesday, leaving the bill unable to reach the 60 votes needed to advance.
• The draft law would have split oversight between the SEC for investment‑contract tokens and the CFTC for spot digital‑commodity markets while adding an ethics regime and a Treasury 'circuit breaker' for stablecoin yields.
• Senators from both parties opposed the motion after Democrats said the ethics provisions did not adequately address President Trump’s business ties to crypto and some Republicans, including Susan Collins and Josh Hawley, also voted no.
• Markets reacted sharply with Bitcoin and Ether down and major crypto stocks falling, as Coinbase shares slid into double digits and Circle shares fell by roughly the same magnitude.
• With midterm campaigning compressing the calendar, industry groups say statutory clarity is now unlikely this Congress and warn that agencies acting through rules and enforcement will shape the market and affect banks, deposit flows, and where crypto firms operate.