Senate Rejects Cryptocurrency Bill Backed by Trump
The US Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act, a comprehensive cryptocurrency bill backed by President Donald Trump, after falling short of the required votes. The bill aimed to create a regulatory framework for digital assets, which crypto companies say would provide them with more stability and legal footing.
Despite the efforts of Senate Republicans, who released a new text of the bill in an attempt to address concerns from the banking industry and some Democrats, opponents were not swayed. The vote was 50-49 in favor, but four Republican senators, Jerry Moran, Susan Collins, Josh Hawley, and Thom Tillis, joined all the Democrats in voting against it.
The failure of the bill effectively puts it on hold as Congress prepares to leave Washington this month ahead of the November midterm elections. This could be a major setback for digital asset companies, which had spent hundreds of millions of dollars campaigning for the bill's passage.
Industry experts have expressed concerns that without legislation, regulations will be vulnerable to the shifting political climate and court challenges. Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, fell more than 5% as the vote appeared on track to fail, its biggest daily percentage decline since June.