- Published on
Crypto industry turns to US regulators after CLARITY setback
- Authors
- Name
- DeepHorus
The CLARITY Act, a major cryptocurrency bill that would establish a regulatory framework for digital assets, stalled in the US Senate on Tuesday after a key procedural vote failed. The Senate voted 49-50 on a motion to invoke cloture, falling short of the 60 votes needed to advance the legislation. In response, crypto industry leaders are now turning to US financial regulators to fill the regulatory gap.
The failed vote occurred on September 16, 2026, and marked a significant setback for the crypto industry’s long-running push for legislative clarity. Democrats raised concerns over US President Donald Trump’s crypto investments, which contributed to the bill’s inability to secure bipartisan support. The CLARITY Act aimed to clarify how digital assets are classified and regulated, a goal that has eluded Congress for years.
Despite the setback, the bill still has a procedural path forward. Senator Thom Tillis moved to reconsider the failed cloture vote, which could allow another attempt in the future. However, industry executives remain divided over whether Congress has enough time left on its calendar to pass the bill this session. The House has already canceled its weeks of September 21 and 28, and the Senate’s state work period begins October 5 ahead of the November 3 election.
Industry executives expressed disappointment but pointed to potential rulemaking from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as the next best source of clarity. Fireblocks US policy director Jessica Martinez said the company would continue engaging with the SEC and CFTC specifically. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse remained optimistic, saying US regulators will 'continue to work hard to issue rules to fill the legislative gap.' SEC Chair Paul Atkins reiterated his commitment to deliver clearer crypto rules at the Solana Policy Institute Summit on Monday.
Not everyone is confident that agency rulemaking can substitute for legislation. NEAR chief legal officer Abhishek Vaidyanathan warned that rejecting the bill leaves firms 'completely dependent on agency guidance and ongoing administrative discretion.' He added that firms setting their 2027 budgets would face another prolonged delay, forcing them back into case-by-case judgments and repeated legal work while counterparties continue to price in regulatory uncertainty. Bitget Wallet chief operating officer Alvin Kan told Cointelegraph that the failure brings 'continued uncertainty over how securities, commodities and money-transmission rules apply across different products.'
Another attempt for CLARITY is possible after Tillis’s motion to reconsider. 1inch chief legal officer Orest Gavryliak said, 'Today’s result is a delay, not a verdict. Legislation of this scale rarely moves in a straight line, and a cloture vote can be brought again.' Vaidyanathan was less optimistic, saying the next Congress is the likely next opportunity to address crypto market structure. Polymarket odds of the CLARITY Act being signed into law in 2026 fell to 5% on Tuesday, the lowest probability since the market was created.
The regulatory uncertainty comes amid mixed crypto market performance. Bitcoin traded at $75,828.76, up 1.42%, while Ethereum stood at $2,403.54, up 2.86%. XRP rose 7.97% to $1.28, and Solana gained 3.34% to $97.25. Some tokens, such as Dogecoin, fell 3.40% to $0.07976. The industry now waits to see whether regulators can provide the clarity that Congress could not.
