XRP (XRP) slid nearly 10% to about $1.30 in early Asian trading on Wednesday, right after the procedural vote on the U.S. Senate’s “Clarity Act” failed. In the wake of this, Bitcoin (BTC) also retreated to around the $76,000 level.
Key points
The Senate’s vote fell short, with the final tally at 49 to 50, failing to clear the 60-vote threshold needed to move the crypto market structure bill to a discussion phase.
Among major coins, XRP suffered the biggest drop, and the stocks of Coinbase and Circle also fell by about 9%.
Even within the supporters’ camp, opinions diverge on whether the bill has effectively been scrapped.
XRP stands at the forefront of the downturn
On Wednesday, XRP fell by about 10% in the early Asian trading session to hit $1.30, making it the worst performer among the top coins by market cap. Ether (Ethereum) (ETH) was down around 5% to roughly $2,410, while Solana (SOL) dropped 5% to slip below $97. Dogecoin (DOGE) also fell by nearly 5%. Bitcoin was down about 3%, hovering just above the $76,000 level.
This sell-off was triggered by the failure of a cloture vote in the Senate the day before, which came out 49 to 50. While 60 votes were needed to move the market structure bill into full debate, the threshold was not reached despite negotiations lasting for months over the ethics provisions and the stablecoin reward structure.
In the vote, all the Democratic senators who were present at the time voted against, and Republican lawmakers such as Susan Collins, Josh Hawley, Jerry Moran, and **Thom Tillis** also joined the opposition citing procedural reasons. Tillis explained afterward that submitting the motion for a re-vote was a choice made based on procedures required for that process.
The shock was greater for listed companies than for tokens themselves. Coinbase’s share price fell by about 9% on a trading-day basis, and **Circle** also plunged by more than 9%. **Galaxy Digital** dropped 8%, and **Gemini** fell 7%. **Bullish** and **Riot Platforms** both declined 5%. Robinhood, MARA Holdings (MARA), and Core Scientific (Core Scientific) also recorded weakness in the 3%–4% range.
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Garlinghouse & Lummis “bitter defeat”…room remains for a comeback
**Ripple** CEO Brad Garlinghouse said via SNS, “This one stings,” adding that he would closely examine the reasons behind the bill initiative’s failure.
Cynthia Lummis, a Republican senator from Wyoming who has been cited as the biggest donor in Congress, effectively delivered a death sentence on the bill in a separate statement. She even used the phrase “It’s over” even before the vote, offering a pessimistic outlook.
However, there are also those who view the outcome as something that can be contested again after a reorganization. **Ji Hun Kim**, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, assessed this result as “disappointing,” yet pointed out that thanks to Rep. Tillis’s procedure agreement, the Senate would be able to vote on another closure resolution within two days. On X (formerly Twitter), Rep. Tillis said the bill is “not over yet,” and praised the White House’s role in the process of reaching cross-party agreement.
There was also a clear counterargument. Democratic Senator **Elissa Slotkin**, from Michigan, said in an SNS post that the bill’s ethical provisions are far too lax, claiming that former President Donald Trump (Donald Trump), his children, and his cabinet members are “making tens of billions of dollars” using cryptocurrencies. She also said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the law enforcement agency, lacks staff to enforce the law, warning that regulations on money laundering and terrorist financing are weak.
This sharp drop put a damper on the trend in which XRP had been continuing its rally in the late summer. In August alone, XRP rose 28.5%, recording its best August performance since 2021. Given that in the past nine years it posted losses in August six times, this marked a meaningful reversal. In the U.S., $153.55 million flowed into spot XRP funds during the same month, but the amount that entered from August 3 to 14 was only $3.27 million.
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