The crypto industry's top legislative priority failed on Tuesday as Democrats said it didn't go far enough to rein in President Donald Trump's personal crypto investments.
A procedural motion to advance the Clarity Act failed by a vote of 49 to 50. The bill would take most crypto trading out of the purview of securities regulators, among other provisions. The motion had needed at least 60 votes, and several Republican lawmakers joined Democrats in sinking the bill.
The Senate is expected quickly to pivot to other issues, snuffing out hope for a crypto bill before the November midterm elections.
On Tuesday, as the outcome of the vote became clear, Coinbase Global extended its losses to more than 11%, while Bitcoin treasury company Strategy sank 6.2%.
This is breaking news. Read a preview of the vote below and check back for more analysis soon.
The cryptocurrency industry faces a pivotal moment Tuesday afternoon, as the Senate is scheduled to hold a procedural vote on whether to advance the Clarity Act. The vote will come down to a handful of moderate Democrats.
The industry has spent millions of dollars lobbying senators to pass the bill, which would take most crypto trading out of the purview of securities regulators. Tuesday's vote is a procedural step that needs support from at least 60 senators, meaning it will fail without support from some Democrats.
The bill has spent the last several weeks hung up by Democratic demands that it include stronger prohibitions on President Donald Trump's private crypto ventures. Trump earlier this year reported that he made well over $1 billion in the last 12 months from crypto-tied businesses, including from World Liberty Financial, the firm he and his family co-founded.
GOP lawmakers released a new draft of the bill late Sunday to try to appease the Democrats, including a new provision that would allow state attorneys general to enforce prohibitions on some crypto activities.
Some moderate Democrats have said they could support the overall bill with modifications, but those lawmakers on Monday seemed cool to the new proposal. Sen. Mark Warner (D., Va.) said the new ethics language "isn't near enough." Sen. Ruben Gallego (D., Ariz.) told reporters that he planned to submit a counterproposal.
There's at least an outside chance that some lawmakers who don't agree with the current text of the bill will vote to move it forward anyway with the idea that it can be amended on the Senate floor. Such a move would give Democrats the opportunity to force GOP lawmakers to vote on stronger limits on Trump's investments, a vote that could be used against them in the midterm campaigns if Republicans oppose them.
"Democrats would likely design these amendments to be as politically uncomfortable as possible for Republicans running for re-election," wrote TD Cowen analyst Jaret Seiberg in a research note Monday evening.
But the bill and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) have even bigger problems. As of Tuesday morning, it looked like the Clarity Act wouldn't even get support from every Republican. Part of the issue lies with banks, which have lobbied hard against the bill, arguing that it should include a ban on high-yield crypto accounts. The banks have said the accounts could drain community banks' deposits, an outcome that crypto executives and White House officials say is nonsense.
GOP senators including John Cornyn (R., Texas), Susan Collins (R., Maine), and John Curtis (R., Utah) have said either that their vote is undecided or that they plan to vote against the bill in its current form.
Crypto's number-one legislative priority can avoid certain death on Tuesday, but even if it proceeds, victory isn't assured.
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