- The Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act on a 49-50 cloture vote, missing the 60-vote threshold.
- Industry leaders like Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse are now pinning hopes on SEC and CFTC rulemaking to fill the legislative gap.
- Senator Thom Tillis has moved to reconsider the vote, but odds of passage in 2026 have fallen to 5% on Polymarket.
The U.S. Senate dealt a blow to the crypto industry on Tuesday by failing to advance the CLARITY Act, a bill designed to establish a federal regulatory framework for digital assets. The 49-50 vote on a motion to invoke cloture fell short of the required 60-vote threshold, leaving the sector without a clear statutory foundation. Consequently, industry executives are shifting their attention to federal agencies to step into the void.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse expressed a tempered optimism on X, stating the SEC under Chair Atkins and the CFTC under Chair Selig will continue to work on rules to fill the legislative gap. He said the industry remains actively engaged in that process. However, executives warn this regulatory patchwork offers only a temporary reprieve, leaving firms dependent on agency guidance and administrative discretion. NEAR chief legal officer Abhishek Vaidyanathan noted that rejecting the bill forces companies back into case-by-case judgments, complicating budget planning for 2027.
Bitget Wallet COO Alvin Kan told Cointelegraph the failure perpetuates uncertainty over how securities, commodities, and money-transmission rules apply across different products. Meanwhile, SEC Chair Paul Atkins has reiterated a commitment to delivering clearer rules, with or without congressional backing. In a separate move, Senator Thom Tillis has moved to reconsider the failed vote, though the path forward remains uncertain. 1inch chief legal officer Orest Gavryliak called the result a delay, not a verdict, noting a cloture vote can be brought again. However, Vaidyanathan suggested the next Congress is the more likely venue, as the House and Senate schedules tighten ahead of the November election. Polymarket odds of the CLARITY Act becoming law in 2026 fell to 5%, hitting an all-time low.
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