WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Tuesday declined to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, a major industry-backed bill that would have set clearer rules for cryptocurrency markets, after Democrats pressed for tighter limits related to President Donald Trump’s investments in digital assets.
The motion to proceed failed 49-50. Sixty votes were required to open debate. The House had already passed a version of the legislation, leaving comprehensive market-structure rules unlikely to become law in 2026.
What the bill would have done
Supporters argued the Clarity Act would have reduced regulatory uncertainty by clarifying which tokens fall under the Securities and Exchange Commission and which under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, while creating registration paths for trading platforms.
Opponents said the measure lacked sufficient conflict-of-interest and consumer-protection guardrails, and some Democrats explicitly tied their opposition to the president’s personal crypto holdings.
XRP dropped after the U.S. Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act. The 49–50 vote was short of the 60 needed to move the bill forward. Crypto markets clearly did not like the outcome.
— That Martini Guy (@MartiniGuyYT) September 16, 2026
Market reaction
Major cryptocurrencies sold off after the vote. Bitcoin traded under $76,000 at one point, and several large altcoins posted steeper losses as traders priced in a longer period of regulatory ambiguity in the United States.
Industry groups warned that capital and talent could continue shifting to jurisdictions with clearer rules, while U.S. agencies retain existing enforcement tools.
What comes next
Without new legislation this year, crypto firms will continue operating under a patchwork of agency guidance and court decisions. Some lawmakers signaled they may try again after the midterms. For now, the message from the Senate is that a comprehensive federal framework remains out of reach.
