XRP led a broad cryptocurrency sell-off Wednesday morning, plunging nearly 10% to $1.30 during Asian trading hours after the U.S. Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act, according to CoinDesk data.
Major Tokens Slide Across the Board
Ether followed with a decline of nearly 5% to approximately $2,410. Solana dropped 5% to just above $97, while Dogecoin fell nearly 5%. Zcash and Hyperliquid’s HYPE each slipped close to 4%, and Bitcoin retreated nearly 3% to just above $76,000. BNB and Tron proved the most resilient, each down only about 1%.
Clarity Act Fails on Cloture Vote
The legislation fell short on a 49-50 cloture vote, the procedural threshold requiring 60 senators to move a bill to debate. Multiple Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the measure. Negotiators had produced more than 600 pages of compromise text, but the provision that ultimately derailed the bill centered on ethics language designed to prevent senior government officials from maintaining crypto business interests.
Senator Slotkin Cites Ethics Concerns
Senator Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, explained her opposition by stating the “the ethics provisions in this bill are simply too thin,” pointing to President Donald Trump, his children and his Cabinet earning money in crypto.
She also said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission lacks the staffing to implement the law, and that the bill left gaps on money laundering and terrorist financing.
Today, I voted no on the Clarity Act, legislation meant to regulate cryptocurrency in America.The ethics provisions in this bill are simply too thin. President Trump, his children, and his Cabinet are making billions of dollars in the crypto space, in part from bilking everyday…
— Sen. Elissa Slotkin (@SenatorSlotkin) September 15, 2026
Crypto Equities Hit Harder Than Tokens
Publicly traded crypto companies suffered steeper losses than the underlying assets. Coinbase shares fell nearly 9% to $174.42, while Circle dropped more than 9% to $88.26. Galaxy Digital declined 8% and Gemini slid 7%. Bullish and Riot Platforms each lost 5%, eToro fell 4%, and Robinhood, MARA Holdings, CleanSpark, IREN and Core Scientific all dropped between 3% and 4%.
Regulatory Path Forward Shifts to SEC
Attention now turns to the regulators the bill was intended to constrain. The Securities and Exchange Commission is already advancing its proposed Reg Crypto framework and rules for tokenized securities, which now represents the primary pathway to the regulatory certainty the industry sought from Congress.
Political and Market Implications
Industry political action committees, including Fairshake, must now decide how to approach senators who voted against the legislation ahead of the November 3 election. A new Congress will convene in January 2027.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its rate decision later Wednesday, with traders leaning toward a quarter-point hike. The decision lands on a market that has just watched its legislative push collapse and is already selling risk assets.
