The U.S. Senate rejected the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, commonly known as the CLARITY Act, by a 49-50 vote on September 17, missing the 60 affirmative votes required to advance it. No Democratic senators supported the bill, while four Republicans opposed it; Senator Thom Tillis used a procedural vote that could leave a path for the legislation to return. Coinbase chief executive Brian Armstrong said the cryptocurrency industry would not wait for Congress, arguing that the SEC (U.S. securities regulator) and CFTC (U.S. derivatives regulator) already have authority to establish clearer rules. The defeat leaves comprehensive federal crypto legislation unlikely before the November midterm elections, while regulators continue separate initiatives. The SEC authorized a five-year exemption for U.S. trading platforms handling tokenized equities, subject to 30 days’ notice to publicly traded companies, and the CFTC approved Kalshi to offer perpetual futures contracts tied to precious-metal prices. Coinbase is seeking similar products linked to equities and market indices. Armstrong said the legislative outcome could benefit Coinbase by limiting additional competition from major Wall Street institutions, while Citizens Bank financial technology research lead Devin Ryan said the setback could accelerate near-term regulation. Coinbase shares rose more than 2% in Friday premarket trading and finished the day up more than 5%.