Senate Rejects Crypto Market Structure Bill Amid Ethics Disputes

A Senate vote on the crypto market structure bill failed to advance, falling short of the required number by one vote. The CLARITY Act, as it was known, would have expanded bank permissibility around crypto assets and allowed banks to participate more in the digital asset ecosystem.

The failure of the vote means that lawmakers will have to start over again in the next Congress, where Democrats may have control of one or both chambers. The bill's Democratic negotiators voted against it due to a disagreement on ethics provisions, which some argued would allow President Donald Trump's family to profit from crypto.

Several Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the legislation, citing concerns over stablecoin yield provisions and their potential impact on community banks. Sen. Elizabeth Warren suggested that she would oppose measures that benefit banks in any future version of the bill.