Crypto-linked stocks sank Tuesday after the U.S. Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act, with Coinbase and Circle each losing roughly a tenth of their value. Bitcoin's own reaction was far more muted, briefly dipping toward $75,000 before recovering most of the move.
Coinbase and Circle lead the stock selloff
Coinbase fell nearly 9% to $174.42 after the Senate blocked the bill. Circle also slid, dropping 9.4% to $88.26. Cointelegraph tracked the decline further into the session, putting Coinbase's loss at 9.9% as Circle shares fell a similar amount.
Galaxy Digital lost 8%, and Gemini fell 7%. Bitcoin miners were not spared either: Riot Platforms dropped 5%, while MARA Holdings, CleanSpark, IREN and Core Scientific each fell between roughly 3% and 4%. Cointelegraph separately reported bitcoin treasury companies under pressure, with American Bitcoin falling around 8% and Strategy and Strive each down about 5%.
A procedural vote, not a policy verdict
The declines followed a 49-50 Senate vote on a procedural motion to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, short of the 60 votes needed. The setback leaves fewer than 36 legislative days for the bill to advance before a new Congress is seated after November's midterms. Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor offered his own take on regulatory clarity, writing on X: "The only clarity you need is Bitcoin."
Traders were also cutting risk ahead of Wednesday's Federal Reserve decision, which markets expect to bring a rate hike, adding pressure across risk assets beyond the crypto sector alone.
Bitcoin's move looks more like a shakeout than a breakdown
Bitcoin briefly broke below its recent ~$76,500 shelf, printing an intraday low of $74,888 after the vote failed. Price then snapped back, recovering to around $76,090 — essentially flat against Wednesday's $76,174 close. The round trip suggests the market had largely priced in the bill's failure rather than treating it as new information.
The broader range remains intact: the $82,000-$82,800 zone has rejected price twice since May. A close back above $76,500 would support a failed-breakdown reading, while continued acceptance below that level would make the breakdown case more credible.
Sources: CoinDesk, Cointelegraph, InvestingLive
Trading involves risk.