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The U.S. Senate blocked the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act on Tuesday. A procedural vote ended 49 to 50, well short of the 60 votes needed to move the bill toward final passage. As CoinDesk reports, several Republicans voted against it, so the bill failed to win even a simple majority. According to CNBC, the outcome is a major setback for an industry that has spent years and hundreds of millions of dollars on lobbying, advocacy groups and political action committees.

What the Clarity Act Was Meant to Do

At its core, the bill aimed to define clearly how U.S. authorities should treat different types of cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects. It would have split oversight between…