The U.S. Senate failed to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act on Tuesday, voting 49-50 on a procedural motion that fell 11 votes short of the 60 needed to move the bill forward. The defeat triggered sharp declines across crypto stocks, with Coinbase dropping 9%, Circle falling 9.4%, and Galaxy Digital sliding 8%.
Gemini declined 7%, while Robinhood, Bullish, and eToro each lost between 3% and 5%. Crypto miners were also pressured, with Riot Platforms down 5% and MARA Holdings, CleanSpark, and Core Scientific each falling 3-4%.
The Clarity Act would have established rules governing how different cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects are classified in the U.S. and granted the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) expanded authority over crypto spot markets. The crypto industry has spent years and hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign contributions pursuing comprehensive federal regulatory clarity, which many companies say they need to develop long-term U.S. strategies.
The bill’s failure means the industry faces a longer wait for legislation it has actively sought. Tuesday’s market turbulence was compounded by investors reducing risk exposure ahead of Wednesday’s Federal Reserve decision, which is expected to result in a rate hike. Broader equity indexes, including the Nasdaq and S&P 500, also closed in negative territory.
Bitcoin declined 3% over the previous 24 hours and briefly approached the $75,000 level during Tuesday’s session.
