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The Blockchain Association has sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, urging both parties to develop a digital asset tax framework, and has launched taxclarityforamerica.com to help users contact their lawmakers. The association's core demands include: establishing a substantive tax exemption threshold for small crypto transactions so that everyday low-value purchases are not subject to the same tax treatment as investment sales; treating qualifying stablecoins more like cash for tax purposes; and treating mining and staking rewards as "self-created property," taxed upon disposition rather than upon receipt.
Odaily News: Fairshake-affiliated entities Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress have spent a combined $2.7 million to support Democratic and Republican candidates running for U.S. House seats in 2026. The spending comes 22 days before the U.S. midterm elections.The expenditures include over $76,000 in supportive advertising for House Majority Whip Tom Emmer and $73,000 for House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson; California Representative Pete Aguilar and New Jersey Representative Josh Gottheimer received $512,000 and $500,000 in support, respectively.Fairshake announced days ago that it plans to support 32 additional House candidates in 2026, with 6 of them each receiving $1 million in supportive media placements. As of August, Fairshake held $122 million in cash and planned to allocate at least $30 million in media spending to oppose Sherrod Brown's run for the Ohio Senate seat.All of the aforementioned candidates voted in 2025 to support the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act). The bill aims to establish market structure rules for cryptocurrencies and expand the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) regulatory enforcement authority, but it failed a Senate procedural vote in September. (Cointelegraph)
former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti pointed out that the SEC's crypto asset FAQ, published on September 25 and updated on September 28, is merely non-binding staff guidance that can serve as a reference but is not a "protective charm." The FAQ, issued by the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance, addresses topics including staking receipt tokens, decentralized network buyback programs, and how marketing communications fit into the Howey test, but it does not name any specific assets or protocols and only provides principle-based statements. Mariotti stated that the FAQ only reflects the views of SEC staff, has not been formally approved by the Commission, and carries no legal force; since the rule proposed on August 18 has not yet been finalized and the Clarity Act is stalled in Congress, industry participants still need to rely on staff commentary to make their own judgments regarding disclosure and token design.
According to Cointelegraph, the crypto political action committee Fairshake, backed by Coinbase, Ripple Labs, and Andreessen Horowitz, announced it will fund 32 House candidates in the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, including 19 Republicans and 13 Democrats. As an initial round, Fairshake will contribute $1 million each to the campaigns of six of these candidates, totaling $6 million. All 32 candidates previously voted in 2025 to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act). The bill had earlier failed to pass a crucial procedural vote in the Senate, and its subsequent progress remains uncertain.
The U.S. Senate failed to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, with the retirement of key lawmakers making it impossible to revive this 635-page bill, backed by both Wall Street and the crypto industry, before the end of the year, leaving the crypto regulatory framework facing a complete reset.
Odaily News: Last week, no Democratic senators in the U.S. Senate voted to advance the Clarity Act, and the bill failed to move to the next procedural step. The bill was intended to establish regulatory rules for digital assets and aimed to reduce everyday transaction costs in the United States. (CoinDesk)
Odaily News: The U.S. Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act last week in a procedural vote of 49 in favor and 50 against, falling short of the required 60-vote threshold. Negotiations on the market structure bill reached a deadlock over ethics provisions related to Trump's crypto business.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) subsequently introduced a digital asset "innovation exemption," allowing qualifying platforms to trade onchain tokenized U.S. stocks without registering as national securities exchanges. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a no-action position for passive software providers and submitted a broader crypto market rulemaking proposal to the White House for review.The Federal Reserve proposed requiring stablecoin issuers under its supervision to fully back tokens with safe, liquid assets and hold capital against operational risks. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is advancing stablecoin rulemaking and plans to finalize the relevant rules by November. (Decrypt)
Odaily News: U.S. Republican Senator John Curtis of Utah has sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Dick Durbin, calling for an investigation into whether Donald Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden used their presidential family connections to obtain private economic benefits, and requesting that both be subpoenaed.Curtis noted that Donald Trump Jr. previously accepted wedding gifts from Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev, actively promoted a family-backed crypto business, and served as an advisor to a prediction market platform; the company in question is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Donald Trump stated that his son has returned the relevant payments to Umar Kremlev.Curtis also requested an investigation into Hunter Biden's large-scale business dealings with foreign entities, as well as whether both individuals used their relationship with the president to create business value. He mentioned that Joe Biden pardoned Hunter Biden in December 2024, and the latter had previously denied involving his father in business transactions.The call for this investigation comes one week after Senate Republicans failed to secure enough Democratic support to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. Some Democratic lawmakers opposed the bill, citing reasons including Donald Trump's use of crypto businesses to gain benefits related to the presidency; Donald Trump disclosed that he earned $1.4 billion from digital asset-related businesses in 2025. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily reports: The U.S. Senate failed to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act on September 15 with a vote of 49 in favor and 50 against, and with limited remaining legislative sessions before Congress's 2027 term, the bill's chances of passage have diminished.Fairshake, a political action committee backed by Coinbase and Ripple Labs, plans to spend $30 million in the Ohio Senate race to oppose Sherrod Brown. Fairshake spent over $130 million on advertising during the 2024 election cycle and approximately $41 million opposing Brown.Stand With Crypto, an advocacy group launched by Coinbase in 2023, said it will mobilize supporters to participate in the 2026 midterm elections based on lawmakers' voting records on the bill. As of Monday, Fairshake and its affiliated political action committees had not disclosed any new spending following the vote. (Cointelegraph)
According to The Block, Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan has revised his previous assessment regarding the impact of the Clarity Act's failure. The bill secured only 49 votes in a procedural Senate vote, falling short of the 60-vote threshold needed to advance. While Hougan had previously forecasted that a failed bill would trigger several weeks of crypto market weakness, he noted in his latest client report that Bitcoin has continued to rise after bottoming out around $57,950 on July 1, surpassing $80,000 on September 4. In the same period, Polymarket’s implied probability for the bill’s passage within the year dropped from 39% to 14%. Price action moving contrary to these expectations suggests that the bull market does not rely on legislative passage. Hougan also pointed out that initiatives such as Robinhood launching its own blockchain, Morgan Stanley listing a Solana ETF, and DTCC completing the settlement of the first batch of tokenized stocks demonstrate that Wall Street institutions are already positioning themselves ahead of regulatory clarity. He noted that proactive rulemaking by the SEC and CFTC can partially fill legislative gaps, but acknowledged that executive regulations carry the risk of being overturned by future administrations. Consequently, congressional legislation remains the sole path to providing lasting regulatory certainty.
Odaily News: U.S. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren stated that she still hopes to push a crypto regulatory bill into law, but does not support the current version of the Clarity Act.Warren said the Clarity Act is Washington's first opportunity to achieve "meaningful crypto regulation," but any bill must include several core elements: regulating public officials' crypto investments, protecting national security and consumers, and strengthening the fight against illicit finance and terrorist financing.Her stance could become more critical next year. If Democrats regain control of the Senate after the November election, Warren could become chair of the Senate Banking Committee, one of the key bodies for digital asset regulatory legislation. The article notes that Kalshi prediction markets currently show a 52% probability of Democrats retaking the Senate.When asked whether she would lead crypto legislation if she headed the Banking Committee, Warren said she would be willing. She said she is willing to sit down with Democrats, Republicans, and the industry to craft a crypto bill that protects national security, protects the economy, and reduces corruption.
The U.S. Senate failed to pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, receiving only 49 votes in support. The bill was primarily stalled due to disagreements between the two parties over ethical restrictions on President Trump's crypto holdings. Republicans accused Democrats of refusing to compromise, and negotiations ultimately broke down.
The Clarity Act failed after falling short of 60 Senate votes. Industry executives noted that it does not alter the long-established regulatory trajectory, but warned that the lack of a statutory foundation will heighten uncertainty and could accelerate corporate migration to markets such as the EU.
Odaily News: A Fox Business crypto reporter posted on X that Clarity Act author @SenLummis is lobbying for a vote, calling on Democrats to vote to advance the bill after Republicans made major concessions on ethics rules and other provisions. The reporter said that, according to their previous post, bipartisan negotiations appear to have suddenly ended.
According to The Block, Katie Wobadden, spokesperson for Senator Cynthia Lummis, stated that the Democrats' amended counterproposal for the latest version of the Clarity Act is identical to their pre-recess position, leading Republicans to reject it. Wobadden noted that Republicans have already made significant concessions on multiple fronts, including agreeing to nearly the entire Tillis-Gallego ethics framework, while Democrats "have not budged," and called on them to engage in substantive negotiations.
Odaily News: The Trump administration is lobbying Senate Republicans to advance the crypto market structure bill, the Clarity Act. Chris Phelan, Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said officials will launch an interactive tool on Tuesday that allows users to set their own parameters and run scenarios to verify that there is no substantive relationship between stablecoin growth and community bank deposit flight.Banking groups say the latest revisions to the bill's text are still insufficient for them to accept the stablecoin provisions. The bill needs at least 60 votes to advance, and the Senate is scheduled to hold a procedural vote on Tuesday afternoon. Several Republicans, including Texas Senator John Cornyn, have hinted they may vote against it, while pro-crypto Democrats have expressed dissatisfaction with the latest text's limited constraints on President Trump. Patrick Witt, Executive Director of the White House Council on Digital Assets, said the bill has incorporated measures to protect community banks.
Odaily News: Moonrock Capital founder Simon Dedic posted on X, stating: "The Senate vote on the Clarity Act is expected to take place in about 10 hours. Democrats have already rejected the Republican-drafted bill on the pretext of so-called 'ethics concerns' (eThIcS cOncErNs); the predicted odds on Polymarket have collapsed, and the market has fully priced in expectations of failure. Regardless of the outcome, however, I am very much looking forward to this vote. It means we can finally turn the page and shift our energy to far more important matters. If the bill fails to pass, we will instead get equally strong pro-crypto regulatory policy from the SEC; and if even that doesn't happen, then the responsibility for watching the U.S. hand over its leadership in frontier finance and sit idly by as the world's most dynamic companies move offshore will rest entirely on the Democrats. Politics is tiresome, but America is not so foolish as to let that situation happen. So what must come will come, and we will ultimately prevail."
According to a report by Eleanor Terrett, an increasing number of U.S. Senate Democrats are open to supporting the Clarity Act, but remain dissatisfied with the current ethics provisions. Some Democratic senators who previously supported sending the bill to committee have yet to take a clear stance, as they had expected stronger ethics clauses to be added before a floor vote. The report noted that Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is encouraging colleagues to vote to advance the bill and continue discussions during the full Senate session.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins expressed support for the CLARITY Act to establish a regulatory framework during the hearing, while emphasizing that the SEC will still proceed with its planned crypto asset rulemaking even if the bill fails to pass.
Odaily News: Coinbase posted on X platform, calling on users to urge senators to vote in support of Clarity.