Clarity bill blocked at 49-50... SEC and CFTC rulemaking work continues

The U.S. Senate's motion to proceed on the CLARITY Act, a crypto market-structure bill, failed by a 49-50 vote, leaving digital-asset legislation stalled ahead of midterm elections that could reshape Congress. With the legislative path blocked, the SEC, CFTC and Treasury are expected to drive substantive crypto regulation through rules and guidance over the next few years, according to 1inch deputy general counsel Maylea Ma. Ma told Cointelegraph that the industry's long-term goal is a legal framework that does not flip with each change of administration, arguing that agency guidance alone cannot deliver the stability the sector wants. The vote underscores how far U.S. crypto oversight remains from statutory clarity, even as the two agencies continue their rulemaking work. What to watch next is whether the SEC and CFTC advance binding rules and whether a post-election Congress revives the market-structure bill.