Clarity Act Stalls in Senate as Crypto Bill Fails to Clear Key Vote

In brief

• Senators voted down cloture on the motion to proceed to the Clarity Act.
• The vote concerned a procedural step toward considering the bill, not final passage.
• Today's result followed months of negotiations over crypto ethics rules and stablecoin rewards.

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday failed to clear a key procedural hurdle for the Clarity Act, setting back efforts to establish a federal framework for crypto markets.

Senators voted to reject cloture on the motion to proceed—a step that limits debate on whether to take up the legislation and requires 60 votes.

The Clarity Act would establish rules for crypto markets, essentially legalizing most crypto activity in the United States, and clarify the respective responsibilities of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Tuesday's result effectively blocks further consideration of the Clarity Act in the Senate. And, according to the bill's biggest supporter in Congress, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, today's failure to reach cloture means the bill is all but dead. "It's over," she said earlier today.

The vote followed a delay until after the Senate's August recess, as lawmakers negotiated disputes over stablecoin rewards, safeguards against illicit finance, and ethics restrictions covering President Donald Trump's crypto interests.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.