Senate Vote Kills Clarity Act, Ending 2026 Chances

On Tuesday, lawmakers prevented the Clarity Act from advancing by failing to gather the required 60 votes in a procedural vote.

The vote was 49 in favor and 50 against, with most senators opposing the legislation that the digital asset sector had long pushed for.

The legislation seeks to clearly split regulatory authority by categorizing digital assets into securities, commodities, or stablecoins. President Donald Trump had called on lawmakers last month to approve it, though Republicans accused Democrats of intentionally stalling the bill.

BREAKING: U.S. Senate DOES NOT PASS the Clarity Act in its procedural cloture vote. — Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) September 15, 2026

Bitcoin's price fell sharply following the news, recently trading at $75,997, down 4% over 24 hours.

Lawmakers from both parties voted against the bill, though pro-crypto members had for months mainly blamed Democrats for attempting to slow its progress.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a prominent crypto critic, told Congress before the vote that the bill “posed a massive risk to families.”

“This bill would put us all at risk of a crypto-fuelled economic crash,” she said, adding that the U.S. still required appropriate crypto laws.

Warren and other lawmakers are particularly concerned that President Trump has unfairly profited from crypto industry deals.

Trump campaigned on a platform supporting crypto, but several Washington lawmakers have criticized how his family gained money from crypto ventures, including his memecoin $TRUMP and the World Liberty Financial project.

Trump and the White House have consistently denied any conflicts of interest.

“Trump won big time on crypto,” Warren added.

A revised version of the bill, circulated in July, included an ethics section targeting officials who profit from crypto. It would prohibit the president, vice president, members of Congress, federal judges, and their spouses from issuing or sponsoring a digital asset in exchange for compensation.

A later draft on Sunday granted state attorneys general authority to sue to enforce those rules, alongside the Justice Department—which Democrats said could not be counted on to take action against Trump.

Even though the bill was blocked Tuesday, regulators continue to advance rules for the crypto industry.

The House of Representatives passed the Clarity Act last year, but the bill has largely stalled in 2026 amid frequent clashes between the banking lobby and crypto firms over whether customers can earn stablecoin yield.