CLARITY Act Fails in the US Senate: How the Crypto Community Reacted, and Whether Analysts See Signs of a Bottom?

• The U.S. Senate rejected the CLARITY Act after a failed procedural vote.
• However, industry leaders note that regulatory rules will still be shaped by the SEC and the CFTC.
• The Incrypted editorial team compiled expert opinions on the bill’s failure.

September 15, 2026, the U.S. Senate voted against ending debate on the CLARITY Act, a bill to establish a structure for the crypto market. Forty-nine senators voted in favor of the procedural motion, while 50 voted against. At least 60 votes were required for it to pass. One senator did not vote. As a result, the bill did not move forward for further consideration. 

Against this backdrop, bitcoin fell below $75,000, but later partially recovered:

The Incrypted team compiled reactions and assessments from experts on the bill’s failure.

• Regulatory rules will still emerge

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong called the vote outcome disappointing. At the same time, he noted that the CLARITY Act could get a second chance as part of further bipartisan negotiations.

Armstrong said Coinbase no longer wants to wait for Congress and expects more active work from the SEC and the CFTC on rules for the crypto industry within their existing authorities.

“So, clarity around crypto assets will still come,” he said.

Armstrong also mentioned the GENIUS Act, which sets federal rules for stablecoins. According to him, while drafting the CLARITY Act, the industry had to agree to a number of difficult compromises.

• Without the bill, key issues remain unresolved

Superstate CEO Robert Leshner said the failed procedural vote leaves a range of issues related to cryptoasset regulation unresolved.

Among them, he cited the line between tokens and securities, the operating conditions for crypto companies in the US, investor protection, and legal safeguards for developers of decentralized systems.

Leshner also highlighted the issue of yield-bearing stablecoins, as well as ethics rules for public officials who interact with the crypto industry.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, commenting on the post, noted that a positive takeaway is that stablecoins can still generate yield. In his view, setbacks along the way do not stop technological progress.

• Ripple and a16z urged lawmakers to keep working on the bill

Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse called the vote painful for the industry. He said the company put significant effort into advancing the CLARITY Act, viewing it as an opportunity to create rules for the entire crypto industry.

Garlinghouse said that after the failed vote, the SEC and the CFTC will continue working on regulation within their respective mandates. He also noted that Ripple will take part in the process.

Andreessen Horowitz general partner Chris Dixon also said that work on regulatory clarity in Washington will continue. He pointed to the growing use of blockchain technology by financial companies and the volume of funds moving onchain.

• The bill was the result of years of compromises

Galaxy Digital head of research Alex Thorn called the CLARITY Act the result of years of work and compromises among different stakeholders. He said the bill was meant to set clearer rules for the crypto industry, allocate authority between the SEC and the CFTC, and strengthen investor protection.

Thorn said that much of the controversy around the document centered on specific provisions, even though, in his view, the bill itself was a compromise across dozens of issues.

He urged the Senate to continue discussing the document and move to substantive debates on its provisions.

Assessing the Bottom and Liquidity

• STHs sent more than 33,000 BTC to exchanges

CryptoQuant analyst known as Darkfost linked part of the market’s reaction to the vote to the behavior of short-term bitcoin holders (STHs). According to his data, after the CLARITY Act news, bitcoin inflows from this group to crypto exchanges rose from 19,400 to 33,100 BTC. More than 10,000 BTC went to Binance.

Darkfost recorded the biggest relative spike on Kraken. According to his data, instead of the usual 2,000 to 3,000 BTC per day, more than 6,000 BTC flowed in.

Meanwhile, on Coinbase Advanced, the analyst said around 7,300 BTC was recorded. Darkfost called this figure typical for the platform, and noted that it does not indicate a similar move from large institutional wallets.

Separately, the analyst drew attention to the structure of these inflows. According to his data, 23,200 BTC was sent to exchanges at a loss for holders. Darkfost called it the largest STH capitulation over the past month.

• The sell-off started before the vote

Analytics platform Santiment disagreed with the thesis that the CLARITY Act failure was the sole driver of bitcoin’s entire drop.

According to the company, the asset had been declining for 12 straight days even before the vote. The price hit a local peak on September 3, and then fell by about 5% by the last close before the vote.

Immediately after the voting procedure, bitcoin lost another roughly 1.7%. As a result, Santiment estimates the vote’s contribution at less than a quarter of the overall 7% drop that had occurred by the time the analysis was published.

At the same time, weighted market sentiment reached a 30-day high on September 14 — one day before the vote. Social activity also hit a 14-day high on September 15.

Santiment noted that it cannot determine which specific factor drove bitcoin’s decline over the first 12 days. At the same time, the company pointed to the upcoming decision by the US Federal Reserve.

• When to expect the bottom?

Amid the debate over the vote’s impact on the market, onchain analyst Willy Woo said he puts the probability of bitcoin forming a bottom at 90%.

Woo noted that he sees the early stage of a bullish market structure, pointing to a recovery in long-term investor liquidity. At the same time, he stressed that he is not drawing conclusions about how long a potential rally could last, as historical cyclical patterns, in his view, are becoming less reliable.

According to him, the bullish structure will remain in place until investor inflows start to weaken.

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