The Clarity Act, a long-awaited initiative in the US cryptocurrency market, failed to secure the necessary support in a critical procedural vote in the Senate. The bill did not reach the required 60 votes, resulting in a 50-49 vote. All Democratic senators, as well as Republicans Susan Collins, Josh Hawley, Jerry Moran, and Thom Tillis, voted “no.” Tillis reportedly changed his vote from “yes” to “no” in order to be able to propose a motion for reconsideration. Democratic Senator Chris Coons abstained from voting.
The result has temporarily blocked the Clarity Act from proceeding through the formal legislative process in the Senate. Because the procedural vote failed, the bill will not proceed to comprehensive Senate debate, amendments, and a final vote. Foreign press reports suggest that, given the current congressional schedule, the likelihood of the bill becoming law has significantly decreased.
Another noteworthy detail is that some Democratic senators who had been involved in the Clarity Act negotiations for months also voted against the bill. Kirsten Gillibrand, Mark Warner, Cory Booker, Raphael Warnock, Ruben Gallego, Angela Alsobrooks, and Catherine Cortez Masto were among those who voted “no.” Following the vote, an industry executive reportedly described the result with the words, “It’s dead.”
The Clarity Act was seen as one of the most important legislative initiatives closely followed by the sector in terms of clarifying the regulatory framework of the cryptocurrency market in the US. Therefore, the failure of the bill to progress in the Senate led to increased short-term selling pressure, especially for cryptocurrency companies, exchange-traded stocks, and some altcoins that are sensitive to regulatory expectations.
Following the announcement of the voting results, Bitcoin’s price experienced a sharp movement. BTC dropped from approximately $76,850 to around $75,000 in a short period. The latest data shows Bitcoin trading at $75,943, with a loss of approximately 4% in the last 24 hours.
Losses were sharper in the altcoin market. Ethereum fell 5.35% to around $2,401, while $XRP’s daily loss reached 9.95%. Solana dropped 4.92%, and Hyperliquid fell 5.30%. BNB’s decline remained around 1%, indicating a significant weakening of risk appetite across the crypto market.
The effects of the sharp sell-off were also felt in the futures market. In the last hour, a total of approximately $292.95 million worth of positions were liquidated, with $265.93 million of that being long positions. The four-hour liquidation amount rose to $339.65 million, and the 12-hour amount reached $576.59 million.
The total amount of liquidations in the cryptocurrency market over the last 24 hours reached approximately $769.13 million. Of this amount, $568.05 million was from long positions and $201.07 million from short positions. Approximately $100.99 million worth of Bitcoin, $98.09 million worth of Ethereum, $16.07 million worth of $XRP, and $14.13 million worth of Solana positions were liquidated.
*This is not investment advice.