Bitcoin and Coinbase Gain After Senate Rejects Clarity Act

Following the U.S. Senate's rejection of the Clarity Act on September 15, the crypto market experienced a significant rally, with Bitcoin and Ethereum rising 11% and 12% respectively. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan noted that while the industry lost the long-term certainty of federal law, it avoided restrictive compromises that would have hindered growth. A critical development occurred just two days after the vote when the SEC issued a five-year innovation exemption for tokenized U.S. stocks. This regulatory move allows these assets to trade through permissioned automated market makers and liquidity pools without requiring traditional exchange registration. The exemption specifically benefits firms like Securitize, which manages tokenized funds for major institutions including BlackRock, Apollo, and KKR. Furthermore, the failure of the Clarity Act prevents a proposed ban on stablecoin yield, allowing platforms like Coinbase to continue offering rewards. While the lack of permanent legislation introduces potential political risk for 2029, the current environment favors rapid innovation and institutional adoption. The total crypto market capitalization has since expanded to approximately $2.95 trillion.