After months of negotiations and a revised 635-page proposal containing 126 Democrat-requested changes, the CLARITY Act failed to clear its key Senate procedural vote on Sept. 15. The motion received 49 votes in favor and 50 against, short of the 60 needed to advance.
The revised text had tightened ethics rules for federal officials and addressed issues around stablecoin rewards and protections for blockchain developers. With the bill stalled, attention now shifts toward the SEC and CFTC and how they may shape crypto rules without new legislation from Congress. Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott has explicitly called on the agencies to establish clearer rules while Congress continues its work. For crypto, regulatory clarity is still a work in progress.
❓What happens next if agencies end up writing the rules before Congress does?