Crypto Exchanges

Story: Industry Leaders Demand Action as CLARITY Act Fails 49-50 in Senate Vote

By Sydney TheCMO

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Industry Frustration Boils Over. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong didn't mince words. The industry "can't wait on Congress anymore,"…

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Republicans Who Voted No. It wasn't just Democrats. Republican Senators Susan Collins, Josh Hawley, Jerry Moran, and Thom…

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CFTC Moves on Its Own Track. The CFTC under Selig is building its own market structure proposals, designed to work within the…

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The CLARITY Act is dead — for now. The Senate voted 49-50 on September 15, falling well short of the 60 votes needed to move forward, and the bill's fate looks murky at best.

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But former CFTC Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo isn't panicking. His read: U.S. regulators can keep building a crypto framework with the tools they already have.

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Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong didn't mince words. The industry "can't wait on Congress anymore," Armstrong said, pushing hard for the SEC and CFTC to step in and set clear rules…

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The bill itself — formally H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act — had real ambitions.

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Democratic lawmakers pushed hard on the ethics provisions, arguing they weren't strong enough to handle potential conflicts of interest.

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It wasn't just Democrats. Republican Senators Susan Collins, Josh Hawley, Jerry Moran, and Thom Tillis also voted against the motion to advance.

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Related: CLARITY Act Senate Vote Puts 630-Page Crypto Bill on the Line

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Senator John Kennedy floated the idea of revisiting the CLARITY Act in a future legislative session, maybe even a lame-duck session after the elections.

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So the near-term action shifts to the agencies.

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The SEC has already put out a proposed framework called Regulation Crypto Assets — a 402-page document that lays out specific conditions under which crypto assets can move out of…

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Read also: Letitia James Leads 17 AGs to Block Crypto Clarity Act Vote in Senate

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Both agencies are basically treating the congressional failure as a signal to accelerate their own work.

The Currency Analytics

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