The U.S. Senate on Tuesday rejected a procedural motion to advance a major cryptocurrency market structure bill, falling short of the threshold required to bring the legislation to a final vote.
The 49-50 vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act failed to reach the 60 supporters required to clear a filibuster. This effectively halted a multi-year effort by digital asset companies, political action committees, and industry lobbyists to establish a statutory regulatory framework for U.S. crypto markets.
The bill would have formally divided federal oversight of the digital asset industry between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), granting the CFTC explicit authority to oversee crypto spot markets.
Negotiations over the 600-page draft stalled in the final days over ethics rules intended to prevent senior executive branch officials, including President Donald Trump, from maintaining business ties to digital asset entities while steering federal policy. Democratic lawmakers argued the bill lacked sufficient conflict-of-interest safeguards, while Republican leaders accused Democrats of shifting demands late in the process.
“Just as Democrats and Republicans were making progress to address ethics concerns, Republican leadership ended talks and forced a vote,” Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said in a statement following the roll call.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., who led Republican negotiations on the bill, urged colleagues to advance the legislation prior to the vote, arguing the measure was vital to preserving U.S. financial competitiveness.
Disagreements over provisions restricting yield-bearing stablecoin rewards also contributed to the bill’s defeat, drawing opposition from traditional banking groups and several Republican senators, including Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.
Following the vote, publicly traded cryptocurrency companies saw significant market declines. Shares of Coinbase Global Inc. dropped nearly 9 percent, stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Financial fell 9.4 percent, and Galaxy Digital lost 8 percent. Bitcoin fell roughly 3 percent over a 24-hour period to trade near $75,900.
Without federal statutory market structure rules, regulatory authority defaults to existing agency administrative frameworks. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins has proposed rules under “Regulation Crypto Assets,” while CFTC officials are drafting market rules under existing Commodity Exchange Act authority. Industry executives and legal experts noted, however, that administrative rules can be altered or rescinded by future presidential administrations without congressional action.
The defeat of the Clarity Act follows the passage of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, a stablecoin-focused regulatory framework enacted into law in 2025.
This article is published on BitPinas: U.S. Senate Rejects Crypto Clarity Act: What the Failed 49-50 Vote Means for Digital Assets
What else is happening in Crypto Philippines and beyond?
