Key facts
- The US Senate failed to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act on Tuesday.
- Fifty senators voted against the cloture motion, falling short of the 60 votes needed.
- Democrats cited concerns over potential conflicts of interest related to President Trump's crypto holdings and illicit finance.
- Three Republican senators, Susan Collins, Josh Hawley, and Jerry Moran, voted against the bill.
- The bill aimed to divide oversight of digital assets between the CFTC and SEC.
The US Senate failed to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act on Tuesday, with a cloture motion falling short of the necessary 60 votes. The bill's failure was attributed to partisan divisions, with Democrats raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest related to President Trump's crypto holdings and illicit finance issues. Republicans had unveiled a revised, 630-page draft over the weekend in an attempt to bridge these divides, but it was not enough to secure the required Democratic support.
Senator Cynthia Lummis, a lead GOP negotiator, had indicated that the vote was a critical moment for the bill's passage in 2026, given the limited remaining working days in the Senate calendar before midterm campaigning. Senator Elizabeth Warren, ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, delivered a floor speech opposing the bill, warning it could trigger a "crypto-fueled economic crash."
Key sticking points included demands from banks to ban crypto firms from paying yield on stablecoins, stronger conflict-of-interest rules concerning Trump's personal crypto holdings, and explicit protections for software developers of non-custodial tools. Despite the revised Republican text, outstanding issues persisted, leading Democrats to reject advancing the bill for floor debate.
The crypto market reacted to the news, with Bitcoin sliding from a session high near $77,200 to a low around $75,600 as the vote progressed. The Digital Chamber, a crypto trade group, described the outcome as a "setback" rather than a defeat and expressed continued commitment to comprehensive digital asset regulation.