The US Senate rejected the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act on September 15 with a 49-50 vote, failing to reach the required 60-vote threshold. The bill previously passed the Senate Banking Committee in May with a 15-9 vote. The legislation aimed to transfer primary oversight of digital assets from the SEC to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The proposed law sought to establish regulatory frameworks for stablecoins, define protections for decentralized finance protocols, and categorize various tokens. However, the bill faced opposition from Democrats citing ethics concerns regarding President Trump's reported $1.4 billion in crypto gains, and from the banking lobby, which opposed provisions allowing stablecoin issuers to offer yield-bearing products.
Following the vote, Coinbase shares fell 12%, Circle shares dropped 13%, and Bitcoin declined more than 5% intraday. The crypto industry, which invested between $100 million and $225 million in lobbying over recent election cycles, remains without a comprehensive regulatory framework as midterms approach.
Analysts suggest there is no chance for the bill to be revived in the current Congress. The SEC will maintain its existing enforcement posture, leaving crypto companies operating without clear legal guidelines. This outcome leaves the US behind jurisdictions like the EU and various Asian financial centers that have already implemented specific crypto regulations.
