XRP plummeted nearly 10% down to $1.30 during Wednesday morning trading hours in Asia, marking the steepest decline among major digital assets, following the Senate’s rejection of the Clarity Act, according to CoinDesk figures.
Ether followed as the next hardest hit, dropping close to 5% to approximately $2,410, while solana slid 5% to just over $97, and dogecoin decreased by nearly 5%. Zcash and hyperliquid’s HYPE both declined by roughly 4%, whereas bitcoin retreated nearly 3% to sit just above $76,000. BNB and tron showed the mildest reactions, each slipping about 1%.
The legislation failed on a 49-50 cloture vote—the procedural maneuver requiring 60 votes from senators to advance a bill to official debate—with several Republicans casting opposing votes.
Although negotiating teams had drafted over 600 pages of compromise language, the deal collapsed over ethics clauses designed to prevent high-ranking government officials from holding personal cryptocurrency business stakes.
Michigan Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin explained her opposition by stating that “the ethics provisions in this bill are simply too thin,” while referencing earnings in the crypto sector by President Donald Trump, his family members, and his Cabinet.
She additionally argued that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission lacks adequate personnel to enforce the legislation, noting that the proposal also left significant shortcomings regarding anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing safeguards.
Today, I voted no on the Clarity Act, legislation meant to regulate cryptocurrency in America.
The ethics provisions in this bill are simply too thin. President Trump, his children, and his Cabinet are making billions of dollars in the crypto space, in part from bilking everyday…
— Sen. Elissa Slotkin (@SenatorSlotkin) September 15, 2026
Digital asset equities experienced sharper sell-offs than the underlying tokens. Coinbase dropped nearly 9% to $174.42, Circle fell in excess of 9% to $88.26, Galaxy Digital retreated by 8%, and Gemini dropped 7%. Both Bullish and Riot Platforms surrendered 5%, eToro declined 4%, and Robinhood, MARA Holdings, CleanSpark, IREN, and Core Scientific recorded drops ranging from 3% to 4%.
Focus now shifts toward the regulatory bodies the proposed law sought to restrain.
The Securities and Exchange Commission continues development on its prospective Reg Crypto framework and regulations governing tokenized securities, leaving this path as the sole alternative for achieving the regulatory clarity the sector sought from lawmakers.
Cryptocurrency political action committees, including Fairshake, must determine their approach toward the senators who voted against the bill ahead of the November 3 election, prior to a new Congress taking office in January 2027.
The Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its interest rate determination later on Wednesday, with market participants anticipating a quarter-point increase entering an environment that has just witnessed the collapse of its legislative initiative and is actively unloading risk assets.
Read More: Inside the last-minute political breakdown that doomed the Clarity Act vote
Originally published at https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/09/16/xrp-sinks-10-as-the-clarity-act-fails-and-bitcoin-slides-toward-usd76-000.
