CLARITY vote fails, long live CLARITY
After a year’s buildup, the US Senate failed to pass a cloture motion on the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act.
The motion received just 49 votes in favor and 50 against, well short of the 60 votes required.
However, Republican Senator Thom Tillis’s “no” vote was not all it seemed, and he confirmed he’d only switched sides at the last minute to enable him to call a new vote in future.
So does that mean the CLARITY Act could be resurrected? The GENIUS bill suffered a similar failed vote on cloture and then went on to pass just 11 days later.
While there is a small chance that CLARITY could still pass,the politics and the number of legislative days available suggests it’s unlikely.
Congressman Shri Thanedar, a Democrat who supported CLARITY in the House, told Magazine the timeline was a “major barrier.”
“There are only 20 legislative days left in this Congress, all of them after the midterms, making odds of a 2026 compromise, unfortunately, very low.”
Seven Democratic senators who had voted against the bill — claimed they “remain committed” to passing it. At some point. “We were ready to strike a deal today and in discussions right up until the vote. Republican leadership shut it down at the very last minute,” said Sen. Angela Alsobrooks.
NEAR chief legal officer Abhishek Vaidyanathan noted the House had already cancelled two sitting weeks and that the Senate’s state work period began October 5.
“Now that cloture failed, the next Congress is the likely next opportunity to address crypto market structure,” he said.
SEC Chair proposes new rules in absence of CLARITY
After the failed vote, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse predicted that US regulators will “continue to work hard to issue rules to fill the legislative gap.”
The industry didn’t have long to wait with the US Securities and Exchange Commission announcing just two days later a five year long exemption allowing limited trading of tokenized US stocks on decentralized public blockchains.
The Innovation Exemption allows tokenized stock trading using automated market makers and exempts them from having to register as securities exchanges.
However the new rules do not exempt “synthetic” stock tokens that do not provide holders with all the same rights as traditional stocks. This is bad news for pretty much all of the stock tokens issued by xStocks and Robinhood to date.
CFTC swoops in to propose new crypto rules
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission also announced regulatory relief for “passive software” providers that connect users to regulated derivatives firms and exchanges.
It issued a no-action position stating it would not recommend enforcement against qualifying providers or their personnel for failing to register as introducing brokers or associated persons when facilitating trading with CFTC-registered firms and exchanges.
The position could make it easier for crypto wallets and other apps to offer access to regulated derivatives, including perpetual contracts and prediction markets.
The CFTC has also submitted draft crypto rules to the White House called the “Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets.” The action is listed at the “prerule” stage meaning it has not yet been formally proposed.
Coinbase this week filed an application with the CFTC to offer 24/5 perpetual futures trading to individual US stocks. Kalshi filed a very similar proposal on the same day.
House committee votes yes to Bitcoin Reserve
The American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026 passed the US House Committee on Financial Services this week. It would formalize the current executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in law. A Digital Asset Stockpile containing other forfeited cryptocurrencies would also be held within the Department of the Treasury.
The legislation requires all federal agencies to provide a full audit of digital assets they hold and orders them to provide quarterly “proof of reserve” reports..
It would also direct a study of budget-neutral acquisition strategies for buying additional Bitcoin for the reserve. Bitcoin Policy Institute executive director Connor Brown on Wednesday called it a “genuinely historic step for Bitcoin policy.”
The US House Ways and Means Committee also passed the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act with bipartisan support, advancing legislation aimed at reshaping the federal tax treatment of digital assets.
Revolut’s $3 million ransom demand highlights dangers of ID storage
The theft of sensitive customer data including passports and KYC selfies from Revolut took a turn for the bizarre when a second hacker demanded a $3 million ransom.
Calling themselves “IAmNotAVillain” the actor publicly demanded 6,000 Monero from Revolut within 24 hours or it would sell the customer records to criminal groups.
Earlier a group calling itself “Revolut Smilik” had demanded 10,000 Bitcoin, worth about $780…
cointelegraph.com