In brief

• The Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act in a 49-50 vote, with Democrats voting as a bloc and three Republicans joining them; the breakdown sparked finger-pointing, though seven negotiating Democrats called it “a setback, but not the end.”
• With industry fatigue mounting, attention has shifted from Congress to regulators, with figures like the Solana Policy Institute’s Kristin Smith calling agency guidance “the more viable path forward right now.”
• Both agencies are moving: SEC Chair Paul Atkins tied a new tokenized-stock innovation exemption to the bill’s failure, while the CFTC issued no-action relief and sent a broader crypto rulemaking to the White House.