Shares of crypto-linked companies fell sharply on Tuesday after the US Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act, a bill that would establish regulatory rules for the digital asset market and clarify jurisdictional boundaries between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Coinbase shares dropped 9.9%, while Circle and American Bitcoin each declined roughly 8%. Strategy and Strive fell about 5% each. Bitcoin miners were also sold off: Riot Platforms dropped around 6%, CleanSpark nearly 5%, and Hut 8 and IREN each fell more than 4%, according to Yahoo Finance data.
The declines followed a Senate vote on a cloture motion to bring the legislation to the floor. The motion fell short of the 60 votes required to proceed.
The setback leaves the bill with little chance of advancing before the end of the year. Fewer than 36 legislative days remain before a new Congress is sworn in following November's midterm elections.
Following the vote, Bitcoin briefly fell below $75,000 but climbed back to around $76,000, CoinGecko data showed.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong had been among the most vocal industry advocates for the bill, telling reporters in May that the legislation had never been in a stronger or more bipartisan position. In August, Armstrong predicted either "60+ votes in the Senate on September 15th" or new rules from the CFTC and SEC on Sept. 16 if the bill failed, writing on X, "Sounds like clarity is coming either way."
Ahead of Tuesday's vote, Armstrong urged senators to support the legislation, framing the decision as one between promoting US crypto innovation and ceding leadership to other countries. "History — and the crypto voter — won't forget," he wrote on X.
Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor responded to the outcome with his own take on regulatory clarity. "The only clarity you need is Bitcoin," he wrote on X.
