Publication Date: September 17, 2026

The CLARITY Act failed to pass a key vote in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, September 15. Sixty votes were needed to move the crypto bill forward, but in the end, 49 senators voted in favor and 50 against. This means the introduction of clear national regulations for the U.S. crypto market has been delayed once again.

The vote did not yet mean that the Senate had made a final decision on the bill itself. It was a procedural vote required to move the bill forward. Now that this threshold has not been met, the bill is on hold for the time being. On May 7, we wrote extensively about the CLARITY Act and what this law could mean for crypto companies and investors in our article “The CLARITY Act: What U.S. Crypto Regulations Mean for Investors.” You can read this article HERE.

Why didn’t the CLARITY Act receive enough support?

There were intense negotiations in the run-up to the vote. According to Republican senators, a new version contained 126 amendments designed to address earlier objections. Nevertheless, key points of contention remained.

Among other things, the negotiations centered on stricter rules to prevent U.S. government officials from profiting from their own crypto holdings. In addition, the banking sector is concerned about stablecoins. If crypto companies are able to offer rewards on stablecoins, banks fear that money could shift from traditional bank accounts toward crypto.





According to the sector, this could affect the amount of money banks have available to lend. In the end, the amendments were not enough to secure the required 60 votes.


Is the CLARITY Act now off the table?

No. The bill has not been definitively rejected. Republican Senator Thom Tillis changed his vote from “yes” to “no” at the end of the vote. This was a procedural decision that leaves open the possibility of resubmitting the bill to the Senate at a later date.

A new attempt therefore remains possible. It is not yet known when that might happen. No new vote on the CLARITY Act was scheduled for Wednesday, September 16. The next step therefore depends primarily on further negotiations and whether sufficient support can still be secured.


What does this mean for the crypto market?

The most significant change is that uncertainty will persist for longer. The CLARITY Act is intended to more clearly define how digital assets are regulated in the United States and which responsibilities fall to regulators such as the SEC and the CFTC.

The financial markets also reacted to the failed vote. Bitcoin fell about 4 percent on Tuesday, while shares of crypto companies Coinbase and Circle lost about 9 percent. This made it clear that investors were closely following the vote.


Conclusion

The September 15 vote does not mark the end of the CLARITY Act, but it does mean yet another delay. The required 60 votes were not reached, and a new vote date has not yet been set.

The coming period will therefore focus primarily on new negotiations in the Senate. Until there is sufficient support for a new attempt, the U.S. crypto sector will continue to wait for more clarity on the future regulatory framework.

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