CLARITY Act fails in Senate as XRP sinks and bitcoin slides

The CLARITY Act, the market-structure bill that would have created a federal framework for digital assets, failed to advance in the Senate, falling 11 votes short of the 60 needed to clear a procedural hurdle (the final vote ran 49-50). After years of negotiation, Senate Republicans rejected a last-minute Democratic counterproposal, despite President Trump agreeing to ethics restrictions and a stablecoin circuit-breaker to secure support. SEC Chair Paul Atkins, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Sen. Cynthia Lummis had all urged passage.

• Markets reacted immediately: XRP sank 10% and bitcoin slid toward $76,000 as every major token fell on the result.
• The shortened September legislative calendar leaves little room for another attempt before the election season intensifies, a blow to the industry's top legislative priority for the year.