Clarity Act Fails Narrow Senate Vote, Crypto Stocks Plummet

The Clarity Act, a bill aimed at regulating cryptocurrency in America, has failed to clear its Senate cloture vote. The vote, which required 60 votes to advance, fell short with approximately 46 senators voting in favor and 43 against.

Seven Democrats who helped negotiate the bill's terms, including Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Mark Warner, Cory Booker, Raphael Warnock, Ruben Gallego, Angela Alsobrooks, and Catherine Cortez Masto, voted against advancing it. Republican senators Josh Hawley, Susan Collins, and Jerry Moran also opposed cloture, with Senator Thom Tillis switching his position from yes to no at the last minute.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a longtime opponent of the bill, said it would decimate the guardrails put in place after the Great Depression. Other Democrats pointed specifically to the ethics language agreed upon by President Trump as a reason they could not support the bill.

Although the failed vote does not kill the Clarity Act outright, Senator Tillis preserved the right to force another cloture vote within two days by changing his position on a related motion to recommit. Industry lobbyists expect that absent a successful revote, the bill would need to be redrafted and reintroduced in a future Congress.