Key facts
- The Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act in a procedural vote on Tuesday.
- Stand With Crypto, a Coinbase-backed group, will include the vote in its lawmaker scorecards.
- The group aims to mobilize its three million advocates for the bill's passage.
- The Clarity Act would establish federal rules for digital assets, dividing oversight between the SEC and CFTC.
- The bill needed 60 votes to advance but failed to do so.
The Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act, a bill aimed at establishing federal rules for digital assets and dividing oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, in a procedural vote on Tuesday. The measure required 60 votes to proceed but did not receive enough support. Stand With Crypto, an advocacy group backed by Coinbase, stated it would incorporate the senators' votes into its lawmaker scorecards ahead of the November midterm elections. The group's executive director, Mason Lynaugh, criticized the vote as a "failure of leadership" and expressed disappointment that "67 million crypto-owning Americans" are still waiting for regulatory clarity. The setback followed last-minute negotiations on various aspects of the bill, including ethics restrictions and oversight of crypto trading businesses. Democrats and Republicans had submitted counteroffers, but the sides remained divided. Banking groups also sought tighter limits on stablecoin rewards, concerned about potential deposit shifts from banks. Stand With Crypto reported that its supporters made nearly 50,000 calls or emails to Congress in August and organized local events. Lynaugh asserted that the group would continue to mobilize its three million grassroots advocates until the bill is passed and that crypto voters would hold lawmakers accountable at the ballot box.