Senate Blocks Landmark US Crypto Bill

The U.S. Senate failed to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, also known as the CLARITY Act, in a key procedural vote on September 15, 2026. Lawmakers were voting on a cloture motion to proceed to H.R. 3633, a step required to bring the sweeping digital-asset market-structure bill to full debate and amendment on the Senate floor.

Cloture on the motion required 60 votes to succeed but did not reach that threshold, leaving the bill stalled. With cloture not invoked, immediate Senate consideration of the legislation is halted and the measure remains on the calendar pending any renewed attempt to move it forward.

A central source of resistance to the current draft came from ethics provisions related to President Donald Trump’s crypto interests. These provisions became a focus of Democratic criticism in the negotiations surrounding the bill.

Opposition centered on how those ethics rules were structured within the broader market-structure framework. The dispute over these elements complicated efforts to assemble a broad bipartisan coalition capable of reaching the 60-vote cloture threshold.

Crypto markets moved lower following the bill’s failure to advance. Bitcoin (BTCUSD), which had been trading above roughly $78,000, retreated back below that level into the mid-$70,000s range after the Senate action.

Multiple crypto tokens and crypto-related stocks also fell as traders reacted to the loss of momentum for near-term regulatory clarity. The pullback in digital assets and related equities reflected concern that a key opportunity for comprehensive federal oversight had been delayed.

Market analysts warned that the failure to invoke cloture on September 15 makes passage of a comprehensive federal digital-asset framework in 2026 significantly more difficult. Without sufficient support to even begin full debate, the CLARITY Act faces a more challenging path forward.

The bill’s stalled status leaves the industry without the broad federal market-structure legislation many participants had hoped would clarify rules for digital assets. Any future progress will depend on whether lawmakers can resolve disputes over ethics provisions and rebuild support for another attempt at Senate consideration.