Crypto Market Regulation Bill CLARITY Fails Senate Vote
TechFlow reports that on September 18, according to Cointelegraph, the U.S. Crypto Asset Market Structure Act (CLARITY) failed to pass a crucial procedural cloture vote in the Senate this Tuesday, falling short of the required 60 votes with a tally of 49 to 50. All 49 yes votes came from Republican senators, with zero Democratic senators voting in favor of opening debate.
Despite the voting setback, the bill is not dead. Republican Senator Thom Tillis switched his vote from "yes" to "no" at the last minute, a procedural maneuver intended to file a motion to reconsider, thereby keeping an option open to bring the bill back before the Senate during this congressional session. Ryan Eagan, U.S. Federal Affairs Director for the Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI), stated that this move to preserve the opportunity was partly due to progress made over the past week. However, the Senate will adjourn on October 2 and return after the midterm elections, while the House has also entered an election recess. Democratic Representative Shri Thanedar noted that the current Congress has only 20 legislative days remaining, all occurring post-midterms, making a compromise highly unlikely.
Current legislative hurdles extend beyond technical drafting issues, centering on President Trump's digital asset holdings and related ethical constraint provisions. Prior to the vote, Republicans had already introduced 126 substantive amendments, including tighter restrictions on public officials profiting from cryptocurrency trades, and assigning state attorneys general a role in enforcing certain ethical provisions. Seven Democratic senators who previously voted against the bill remain committed to advancing the legislation. Senator Angela Alsobrooks criticized Republican leadership for blocking the path to success at the last minute, while Chassé warned the industry not to focus exclusively on ethics, noting that issues such as stablecoin reward caps and anti-money laundering language could also be key bargaining chips for building bipartisan consensus.
