Bitcoin, XRP and Shiba Inu are trading sharply lower after the U.S. Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act, dealing a major blow to the cryptocurrency industry's push for comprehensive market structure legislation.
The crucial procedural vote failed 49-50 on Tuesday. Supporters needed 60 votes to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 3633, meaning the legislation fell well short of the threshold required to move forward.
The defeat added more pressure to an already weak cryptocurrency market.
Bitcoin is currently trading near $76,000, down roughly 3.7% over the past 24 hours. XRP has suffered an even steeper decline, plunging more than 7% to around $1.30.
Shiba Inu has also joined the selloff. SHIB is changing hands at roughly $0.00000513, down around 3.7% on the day.
Ethereum, Solana and other major cryptocurrencies are also in the red.
These senators voted against CLARITY
Perhaps the biggest surprise was the number of lawmakers who had previously participated in bipartisan crypto negotiations but ultimately voted against moving the bill forward.
Several prominent Democrats who had spent months negotiating the legislation voted no, including Kirsten Gillibrand, Mark Warner, Cory Booker, Raphael Warnock, Ruben Gallego, Angela Alsobrooks and Catherine Cortez Masto.
Warner, Alsobrooks, Booker, Gallego, Cortez Masto and Warnock had previously said that the Republican version of CLARITY needed stronger provisions covering ethics, consumer protection, illicit finance, conflicts of interest and market integrity.
Lisa Blunt Rochester was another Democratic opponent. She had already voted against the legislation during its consideration by the Senate Banking Committee in May, arguing that outstanding concerns involving investor protection, market integrity, illicit finance and financial stability had not been adequately resolved.
John Fetterman also voted no despite having supported the GENIUS stablecoin legislation.
Importantly, Democrats were not solely responsible for the bill falling short. Three Republicans (Susan Collins of Maine, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Jerry Moran of Kansas) also voted against advancing CLARITY.
Dan Burgin
U.Today Editorial Team
