The US Senate failed to advance cloture on the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act on Wednesday, with 49 votes in favor and 50 against — well short of the 60 needed to proceed. The defeat halts one of the longest-running efforts to establish a comprehensive framework for cryptocurrency oversight in the United States.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis voted no on the motion but confirmed he switched sides at the last minute to preserve the option of calling a new vote later. Despite that procedural maneuver, prospects for the bill's passage appear dim. Congressman Shri Thanedar, a Democrat who championed CLARITY in the House, told the publication the timeline is a "major barrier," noting only 20 legislative days remain in this Congress after the midterms.
The GENIUS bill suffered a similar failed cloture vote before passing 11 days later, offering a narrow path for resurrection. However, the compressed calendar and partisan dynamics make another attempt unlikely in the current session.
Seven Democratic senators who voted against the bill said they remain committed to its eventual passage. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks stated her side was ready to strike a deal before Republican leadership intervened at the last minute.
NEAR chief legal officer Abhishek Vaidyanathan noted that with the House already having cancelled two sitting weeks and the Senate's state work period beginning Oct. 5, the next Congress is the likely venue for crypto market structure legislation.
Within days of the cloture failure, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a five-year Innovation Exemption permitting limited trading of tokenized US stocks on decentralized public blockchains using automated market makers, without requiring registration as securities exchanges. The exemption does not cover synthetic stock tokens that fail to confer full shareholder rights, effectively excluding products from xStocks and Robinhood to date.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission simultaneously issued a no-action position granting regulatory relief to passive software providers connecting users to regulated derivatives firms. The agency said it would not recommend enforcement against qualifying providers or their personnel for failing to register as introducing brokers. The CFTC also submitted draft crypto rules to the White House at the prerule stage.
Coinbase and Kalshi both filed applications with the CFTC to offer 24/5 perpetual futures trading on individual US stocks.
In the House, the American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026 passed the Financial Services Committee, formalizing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve established by executive order. The legislation would also create a Digital Asset Stockpile within the Treasury for forfeited cryptocurrencies and require quarterly proof-of-reserve reporting from federal agencies. A study of budget-neutral acquisition strategies for additional Bitcoin purchases would be directed.
The Ways and Means Committee separately advanced the bipartisan Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act.
Separately, Revolut disclosed a $3 million ransom demand from a second hacker calling themselves "IAmNotAVillain," who threatened to sell customer records to criminal groups if not paid in 6,000 Monero within 24 hours. The data breach initially involved passport and KYC selfie theft, with an earlier group demanding 10,000 Bitcoin — roughly $780 million — for the same records.
Onchain malware usage by state-linked hackers surged 420% over the past 12 months, with North Korea and Iran among the actors adopting the technique, according to a Chainalysis report.
Standard Chartered projected Arbitrum could reach $10 by 2030, representing a roughly 70-fold increase from current levels, driven by the network capturing 10% of net protocol revenue from builders such as Robinhood Chain.
At week's end, Bitcoin traded at $81,185, up 5.9%, Ethereum was at $2,639, up 6.6%, and XRP rose 5.4% to $1.40. Total market capitalization stood at $2.78 trillion.
