The Senate fails consumers on CLARITY Act

• Comprehensive cryptocurrency legislation was torpedoed in the US Senate after months and years of negotiations, bargaining, and input.
• Too much focus on ‘TRUMPCOIN’ and the president’s business ventures sank the prospects of regulatory clarity for a growing industry used by millions. 
• The CLARITY Act had flaws, but it would have ended the legal ambiguity over digital assets to allow the United States to shine as a global leader.

WASHINGTON, DC — SEPT 17, 2026— Yesterday, the U.S. Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act through cloture, falling 11 votes short at 49-50.

This is a direct failure of Congress to protect the 50 million Americans who hold digital assets and deserve legal certainty on a growing alternative to traditional finance. 

The Consumer Choice Center calls on Senate leaders from both parties to revive this legislation after the October recess and deliver the regulatory clarity consumers need.

“The Senate voted against regulatory clarity for millions of American consumers who simply want a functioning legal environment for digital assets. Now, offshore exchanges and regulatory gray markets will gladly fill the void Congress has continued to maintain. We urge senators from both parties to act swiftly and revive this legislation. American consumers and the future of U.S. financial innovation are counting on it,” said Yaël Ossowski, deputy director of the Consumer Choice Center, an international consumer group that advcoates for smart cryptocurrency policies. 

“Users of bitcoin and their crypto-offspring have long sought to have clear rules on de minimis taxation, applicability of the Bank Secrecy Act, liability protections for developers of open-source technologies, and financial rules to provide better products that integrate cryptocurrency into the broader financial system. That Congress would chuck that out of the window after years of honest debate and deliberation leads us to ask: can anything serious be done in these chambers anymore?” 

By clearly delineating SEC and CFTC jurisdiction, classifying digital commodities, stablecoins, and digital securities, and providing a compliance pathway for crypto businesses, the bill would have reduced regulatory risk for American consumers and investors.

Without such a framework, Americans remain exposed to enforcement-by-surprise, market uncertainty, and the systematic offshoring of legitimate financial innovation.

Competing jurisdictions in the EU and UK have already implemented clear crypto frameworks, placing U.S.-based innovators and consumers at a global disadvantage.

The Consumer Choice Center has published several articles and papers on the precise smart regulatory policies that would boost the legitimacy of both cryptocurrencies and fintech. 

• Ossowski in The Blaze on proposed Bitcoin rules [READ]
• Explainer on principles for smart cryptocurrency regulation [READ]
• CCC’s Well-Timed Warning on FTX, Bankman-Fried and Future Cryptocurrency Regulations [READ]

The Consumer Choice Center is an independent, nonpartisan consumer advocacy group championing the benefits of freedom of choice, innovation, and abundance in everyday life for consumers in over 100 countries. We closely monitor regulatory trends in Washington, Brussels, Ottawa, Brasilia, London, and Geneva.

Find out more at ConsumerChoiceCenter.org