Ripple, MicroStrategy: CLARITY Act Setback Leaves XRP and Bitcoin Unchanged

Ripple and MicroStrategy informed investors that the Senate's rejection of the CLARITY Act on Tuesday did not change the legal status of XRP or Bitcoin (BTC). The proposed legislation would have enshrined the nation's crypto market rules into federal law.

The Senate vote failed 49 to 50, with 60 votes required for passage. Cryptocurrency markets reacted, but the impact was quickly contained.

Ripple and MicroStrategy Assert the Legal Foundation Remains Unchanged

Stuart Alderoty, Ripple's chief legal officer, highlighted two legal victories that came before the vote.

A 2023 federal court ruling found that XRP sales on exchanges were not securities transactions. The same judge determined that Ripple's sales to institutions did violate securities law.

Then in March, two US regulators went a step further. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) included XRP in a list of 16 assets classified as digital commodities.

“Don’t forget – Ripple and XRP stand on settled ground. The 2023 federal Court ruling established XRP is not a security. And in March the SEC and CFTC issued a joint interpretation naming XRP a digital commodity,” Alderoty wrote on X.

Strategy, the firm formerly MicroStrategy, made the same case for Bitcoin. It holds 845,050 BTC purchased for $63.73 billion, or $75,412 per coin. Bitcoin traded near $76,206 after the vote, leaving the holdings roughly 1% above cost.

“Bitcoin has had legal and regulatory clarity in the U.S. for years,” wrote Strategy.

How Quickly Democratic Support for the Bill Collapsed

The House passed the same bill 294 to 134 in July 2025, with 78 Democrats supporting it then. Fourteen months later, it failed in the Senate.

Representative Tom Emmer, the House majority whip, called out Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. He said she had praised the industry at a March panel but later voted no.

Upset with Clarity failing? Blame a Senate Democrat. They are bad faith negotiators. In March, I was on stage with @gillibrandny at a @DigitalChamber panel where she “agreed” with me and claimed she wanted “the United States to be at the forefront of this industry.” Senator…

— Tom Emmer (@GOPMajorityWhip) September 15, 2026

Ahead of the vote, 18 state attorneys general had called on Congress to reject the text.

Chainlink said each month without rules drives developers abroad. Grayscale said the industry continues to make substantial progress through the ongoing work of regulators like the SEC and CFTC. Both now look to the two regulators to create what Congress would not.

“Our team gave everything we had to get the Clarity Act across the finish line… The politics of the democrats (the anti-crypto army) was elevated over good policy,” Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse noted.