Bitcoin Falls More Than 5% as CLARITY Act Vote Stalls in Senate
Key Facts
Bitcoin fell more than 5% on September 15, as a Senate vote on the CLARITY bill appeared likely to stall, marking its biggest daily decline since June, according to Reuters. The report said the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission would be positioned to fill the gap in cryptocurrency policy. That puts the two agencies at the center of the regulatory path after the legislation stalled, Reuters reported. Coinbase and Circle shares also fell as much as 10% as prospects for the bill’s passage dimmed. Market activity focused on a vote that appeared headed for failure, according to the report.
Bitcoin’s losses came on a day Reuters described as its biggest percentage decline in a single session since June. The cryptocurrency fell more than 5%, while shares of Coinbase and stablecoin issuer Circle dropped as much as 10%. The report linked the asset moves to the Senate vote, with the vote’s failure appearing likely before the declines occurred. That highlighted the sensitivity of digital-asset companies’ shares and cryptocurrencies to legislative developments in this particular session. The report did not provide Bitcoin’s closing level or share prices in the facts presented.
The final version of the bill had been released ahead of the vote, following more than a year of negotiations and including 126 substantial changes requested by Democrats, according to a statement from Senator Cynthia Lummis’s office. The version included authority for the Treasury Department tied to deposit flows resulting from stablecoins used for payments. The final text was released on the eve of the expected vote, according to the statement, in an effort to accommodate the changes requested by Democrats. But the changes did not prevent the vote from stalling, as Reuters’ coverage showed. The powers of existing regulators remained a possible focus of policy in the absence of legislative progress, according to the report.
In August, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a system for crypto asset offerings that included two registration exemptions, according to agency documents. The first exemption would allow offerings of up to $5 million over four years, while the second would permit offerings of up to $75 million in each 12-month period. The agency issued the proposal on August 18 and set October 20 as the deadline for public comments. The proposal represents a regulatory path separate from the CLARITY bill, as it concerns the agency’s proposed rules for securities offerings. The initiative is part of the regulatory context the two agencies may address amid the vacuum cited in the Reuters report.
In the economic context, the U.S. Census Bureau reported on October 27 that durable goods orders rose 1.8% in September to $345.4 billion, an increase of $6.3 billion. That followed a 0.1% rise in August, while orders excluding transportation equipment increased 0.5% in September. Transportation equipment led the increase, with orders rising $5.2 billion, or 4.6%, to $119.8 billion. The figures put industrial orders in context ahead of the Federal Reserve’s October meeting. The Census Bureau did not link these figures to cryptocurrency regulatory developments.
Ahead of the October meeting decision, the federal funds rate stood at about 3.9%, and investors saw very little chance of an increase, according to the Associated Press. The Federal Reserve is aiming to bring inflation back to 2%, the agency reported. The central bank is scheduled to hold its next meeting on December 8 and 9, 2026, according to the Federal Reserve’s calendar. That remains the next announced meeting after October on the calendar provided by the central bank. As for crypto asset moves linked to the CLARITY bill’s stalling, the report recorded their decline in the September 15 session.