The collapse of hopes for the CLARITY Act: the US Senate blocked the historical crypto-law on the verge of adoption
The cryptocurrency industry’s hopes for long-awaited legal recognition and the end of the era of regulation through lawsuits have suffered a crushing failure. Contrary to preliminary optimism, the key comprehensive bill CLARITY Act (Digital Asset Market Structure & Clarity Act) sensationally failed the procedural vote in the US Senate and was finally removed from the agenda of the current legislative session. An unexpected demarche of a group of senators and the direct intervention of the U.S. Treasury blocked the document on the verge of approval, provoking a large wave of sales: the Bitcoin rate fell below $78,000, and the volume of forced liquidations of long positions exceeded $480 million.
What disagreements and hidden-amendments buried the bill?
The fatal blow to the CLARITY Act was the sudden introduction of a package of tough amendments by the financial intelligence agency FinCEN and a coalition of senators led by Elizabeth Warren literally a few hours before the final reading. The Ministry of Finance demanded the forced extension of the requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and total KYC/AML standards to PoS validators, cross-chain bridge operators and even independent developers of non-custodial software. Crypto industry supporters flatly refused to vote for the compromise, saying that such language would make writing smart contracts a criminal offense. As a result, in the procedural vote (cloture), supporters of the reform did not have enough votes to overcome the mandatory threshold of 60 senators.
What will happen now with staking-in-Ethereum-ETF and applications-on-Solana-ETF?
The failure to pass the law deals a severe blow to Wall Street’s institutional plans. Without statutory immunity, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) retains carte blanche to prosecute staking as “unregistered securities” under the Howey test. Applications by BlackRock, Fidelity and Franklin Templeton to include 3.5-4% on-chain yields in spot Ethereum ETFs have been frozen indefinitely. Moreover, the removal of the CLARITY Act effectively ends the prospects for rapid approval of spot Solana-ETFs, as the legal status of the SOL and the boundaries of the CFTC’s jurisdiction are once again stuck in an intractable gray area.
How did the market react and how does failure threaten the industry in the coming year?
The cryptocurrency market reacted to the news with an instant panic dump of risky assets. Bitcoin immediately dropped from $82,200 to $77,500, and the DeFi token sector lost over 12% of its capitalization amid fears of a new wave of claims from the regulator. Political analysts emphasize that the window of opportunity for passing a comprehensive law has closed. Ahead of US congressional elections, lawmakers won’t return to considering digital assets until at least mid-2027, threatening a new round of exodus of blockchain startups and institutional capital to the friendly jurisdictions of the UAE, Singapore and Europe.
The crypto market isn't just about numbers—it's a complex ecosystem where politics, technology, and economics intertwine. In my news coverage, I strive not merely to recount events, but to analyze their real impact on the market. My goal is to make cryptocurrency news clear, accessible, and objective.
