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A major push to give digital assets clear regulatory footing in the US just hit a wall. The CLARITY Act failed to clear a Senate cloture vote on Tuesday, falling short 49-50 as Democrats cited concerns tied to President Donald Trump’s crypto holdings. But the bill’s supporters aren’t calling it dead — and some are already pointing to regulators as a fallback plan.
A Narrow Miss, Not a Full Stop
The vote needed 60 votes to advance and came up one short of that threshold. For an industry that has spent years lobbying for a defined rulebook covering securities, commodities, and money transmission, the result stung. Still, the response from crypto leaders wasn’t panic — it was a pivot.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse pointed to the SEC and CFTC as the next line of defense, noting that both agencies, under Chair Paul Atkins and Chair Mike Selig respectively, are positioned to keep working on rules even without new legislation. Atkins reinforced that message himself just a day earlier at the Solana Policy Institute Summit, telling attendees the agency would push for clearer crypto rules regardless of what Congress does.
Why Agency Rules Aren’t a Full Substitute
Not everyone sees regulatory rulemaking as an adequate stand-in for actual law. NEAR’s chief legal officer, Abhishek Vaidyanathan, warned that relying on agency guidance leaves firms stuck making case-by-case calls instead of planning around fixed rules — a real problem for companies trying to set budgets for 2027. Bitget Wallet COO Alvin Kan echoed that concern, saying the stalled vote leaves lingering uncertainty over how existing rules apply across different crypto products.
The timing adds pressure. Vaidyanathan noted the House has already canceled session weeks around September 21 and 28, and the Senate won’t resume its work period until October 5 — just weeks before the November 3 election. That leaves a narrow window for any second attempt this year.
The Path Forward Remains Open, Barely
There’s still a procedural route back to a vote. Senator Thom Tillis has moved to reconsider Tuesday’s failed cloture attempt, keeping the bill technically alive. 1inch chief legal officer Orest Gavryliak framed the setback as a delay rather than a final verdict, noting that bills of this scale rarely pass in one clean attempt.
Markets, though, aren’t betting on a quick turnaround. Odds on Polymarket that the CLARITY Act becomes law in 2026 dropped to just 5% following the vote — the lowest reading since the market opened in January. Whether the bill gets a second shot before year’s end, or waits for the next Congress, now depends largely on how much legislative runway is left.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is for general purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. The author’s views are personal and may not reflect the views of Chain Affairs. Before making any investment decisions, you should always conduct your own research. Chain Affairs is not responsible for any financial losses.
