Clarity Act fails after 49-50 Senate vote

• The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act has failed to advance after a 49-50 U.S. Senate vote.
• The bill needed 60 votes to clear the Senate’s procedural hurdle.
• Attention now turns to the SEC and CFTC, which have already begun separate crypto rulemaking.

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act has failed to advance after a 49-50 Senate vote fell short of the 60 votes required.

The vote followed months of negotiations, with lawmakers having worked through more than 600 pages of proposed compromises.

“Do not let this day be the day we handed our future to someone else because we were too afraid to finish what we started,” said Senator Cynthia Lummis.

The remaining disagreements included ethics provisions covering senior government officials with crypto business ties, while multiple Republicans also voted against the bill.

The defeat has shifted attention towards the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which have already begun developing crypto rules.

The Clarity Act has sought to define how the government would regulate different cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects while giving the CFTC authority over crypto spot markets.

The setback follows the 2025 passage of the GENIUS Act, which established a federal framework for stablecoin issuers, while the current Congress will end its session later this year.