XRP sinks 10% as CLARITY Act fails and Bitcoin slides toward $76,000

XRP led a broad crypto sell-off on Wednesday as the failure of the CLARITY Act in the U.S. Senate added fresh regulatory uncertainty to an already weak market.

XRP dropped nearly 10% to $1.30, making it the worst performer among major cryptocurrencies during Asian morning trading. Bitcoin also slipped toward $76,000 while Ethereum, Solana and Dogecoin posted losses of around 5%.

The sell-off followed Tuesday's 49 - 50 Senate procedural vote on the CLARITY Act. The motion needed 60 votes to advance the legislation toward debate but fell 11 votes short.

XRP leads the crypto market sell-off

XRP suffered the largest decline among major cryptocurrencies following the Senate setback.

The token fell nearly 10% to around $1.30, while Ethereum declined almost 5% to approximately $2,410. Solana dropped about 5% to just above $97, and Dogecoin also fell nearly 5%.

Zcash and Hyperliquid's HYPE declined close to 4% each, while Bitcoin slipped nearly 3% to just above $76,000. BNB and Tron were comparatively resilient, with losses of around 1%.

The move extends the pressure on XRP after the token had spent much of the recent period reacting to developments surrounding U.S. crypto regulation.

Related: XRP price outlook as network activity hits 2-month high: Will $1 hold?

The latest decline shows how quickly sentiment can change when a major regulatory catalyst fails to materialize.

CLARITY Act fails after months of negotiations

The Senate's 49-50 vote was a procedural setback rather than a final vote on the substance of the legislation.

The CLARITY Act needed 60 votes to invoke cloture and move toward consideration on the Senate floor. Instead, the motion failed, with several Republicans joining Democrats in voting against it.

The result came after months of negotiations between the two parties and the production of more than 600 pages of compromise text.

The biggest remaining disagreement centered on ethics provisions designed to restrict crypto-related business interests held by senior government officials.

Democrats argued that the latest language did not go far enough, while Republicans had already added additional restrictions and enforcement provisions in an effort to secure bipartisan support.

The failure of the vote therefore leaves the legislation's path forward uncertain.

Related: CLARITY Act fails key Senate vote as crypto bill stalls

Ethics provisions remain at the center of the dispute

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, said she voted against the legislation because she considered its ethics provisions insufficient.

Slotkin specifically pointed to President Donald Trump, his children and members of his Cabinet who have financial interests in crypto. She also raised concerns about whether the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has enough staffing to implement the proposed framework and argued that the bill leaves gaps around money laundering and terrorist financing.

The concerns highlight the broader challenge facing the legislation.

Republicans and Democrats have been negotiating not only over how digital assets should be regulated, but also over how the legislation would address potential conflicts of interest involving government officials.

Those disagreements ultimately prevented the bill from securing the 60 votes needed to advance.

Crypto stocks fall even harder

The sell-off extended beyond tokens and into publicly traded crypto companies.

Coinbase shares fell nearly 9% to $174.42, while Circle declined more than 9% to $88.26. Galaxy Digital dropped about 8%, while Gemini fell roughly 7%.

Bullish and Riot Platforms each lost around 5%. eToro declined about 4%, while Robinhood, MARA Holdings, CleanSpark, IREN and Core Scientific fell between 3% and 4%.

The larger losses across crypto equities suggest investors were also reassessing the regulatory outlook for companies whose businesses could benefit from a clearer U.S. digital-asset framework.

SEC and CFTC now take center stage

With Congress unable to advance the CLARITY Act, attention is shifting toward the regulatory agencies that the legislation was designed to govern.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is already working on its broader regulatory framework for crypto assets, including rules covering tokenized securities.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also expected to remain central to the industry's regulatory landscape.

Without new legislation, regulatory agencies may have to continue developing rules and guidance under their existing authority.

Former CFTC Chair J. Christopher Giancarlo said the agencies can continue working on crypto rules despite the Senate setback, although the absence of legislation leaves some of the industry's desired statutory clarity unresolved.

Bitcoin faces another test near $76,000

Bitcoin's decline toward $76,000 comes as the cryptocurrency market faces pressure from both regulatory and macroeconomic developments.

The CLARITY Act setback arrived just hours before the Federal Reserve's latest interest-rate decision, giving traders another major catalyst to monitor.

Markets had been leaning toward a quarter-point Fed rate increase ahead of the decision. That means crypto traders are now dealing with two potentially important developments at almost the same time: tighter monetary policy expectations and a failed attempt to advance comprehensive crypto legislation.

Bitcoin briefly traded as low as approximately $74,913 before recovering toward the $76,000 area, according to market data reported by MarketWatch.

The combination of regulatory uncertainty and macroeconomic pressure could keep volatility elevated across major digital assets.

CLARITY Act setback comes at a critical time

The failed vote leaves the crypto industry's legislative push facing a narrower window before the 2026 midterm elections and the start of a new congressional session in January 2027.

Industry political groups such as Fairshake will also face decisions over how to respond to senators who opposed the legislation ahead of the November election.

For the crypto market, however, the immediate issue is price pressure.

XRP has taken the largest hit among major tokens, while Bitcoin has fallen toward $76,000 and Ethereum has slipped toward $2,400. Crypto stocks have experienced even steeper declines.

The Federal Reserve's decision now becomes the next major event for markets.

With the CLARITY Act stalled in the Senate and monetary policy still in focus, crypto traders face a combination of regulatory uncertainty and macroeconomic risk heading into the rest of September.