The U.S. Senate blocked the Clarity Act in a procedural cloture vote on Tuesday, with the long-awaited legislation falling short of the 60 votes required to advance. The measure received 49 votes in favor and 50 opposed.

The bill, long sought by the digital asset industry, would formally divide oversight among regulators and establish whether different digital assets are classified as securities, commodities or stablecoins. President Donald Trump urged lawmakers to pass the legislation last month, while Republicans accused Democrats of deliberately holding it back. Because the bill failed to advance, its proposed framework for allocating regulatory oversight and classifying digital assets remains unresolved in the legislation.

BREAKING: U.S. Senate DOES NOT PASS the Clarity Act in its procedural cloture vote. — Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) September 15, 2026

Bitcoin’s price fell sharply following the vote and was recently trading at $75,997, down 4% over 24 hours.

Both Republicans and Democrats voted to block the bill. However, pro-crypto lawmakers had for months primarily accused Democrats of deliberately stalling the legislation.

Ahead of the vote, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, one of the crypto industry’s most outspoken critics, told Congress that the bill “posed a massive risk to families.”

“This bill would put us all at risk of a crypto-fuelled economic crash,” Warren said, adding that the United States still needed comprehensive cryptocurrency legislation.

Warren and other lawmakers have also criticized what they describe as Trump’s unfair benefit from deals in the crypto industry. Trump campaigned on supporting the sector, but some lawmakers in Washington have objected to the Trump family’s profits from digital asset ventures, including the president’s memecoin, $TRUMP, and the World Liberty Financial project. Trump and the White House have consistently denied any conflicts of interest.

“Trump won big time on crypto,” Warren added.

A revised draft circulated in July included an ethics title targeting officials who profit from crypto. The provisions would prohibit the president, vice president, members of Congress, federal judges and their spouses from issuing or sponsoring a digital asset for compensation.

A further draft released late Sunday would have given state attorneys general the authority to sue to enforce those rules, alongside the Justice Department. Democrats had argued that the department could not be relied upon to take action against Trump.

Regulators are continuing to develop industry rules despite the Senate’s decision to block the bill. The House of Representatives passed the Clarity Act last year, but the legislation has largely stalled in 2026. The banking lobby has frequently clashed with crypto companies over whether customers should be paid yield on stablecoins.

Source: Bitcoin Magazine, by Mathew Di Salvo.