Coinbase-Backed Crypto Group Warns of Midterms Payback After Clarity Act Fails

Stand With Crypto, a Coinbase-backed advocacy group, warned of electoral consequences Tuesday after the Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act.

In a statement following the vote, Stand With Crypto said it would add senators’ votes to its lawmaker scorecards ahead of November’s midterms.

“Today’s vote was a failure of leadership,” executive director Mason Lynaugh said in a statement. “67 million crypto-owning Americans have waited years for the basic clarity needed to use, build, and invest in digital assets safely. Today, the Senate chose to keep them waiting.”

The failed cloture vote halted a procedural step toward Senate consideration of the bill, which would establish federal rules for digital assets and divide oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The measure needed 60 votes to advance.

“Today, their Senators failed them, choosing to stand in the way of progress instead of delivering for their constituents,” the group wrote on X. “This November, crypto voters will show up and demonstrate their power at the ballot box.”

The setback followed last-minute negotiations over ethics restrictions, protections for software developers, and oversight of crypto trading businesses. Democrats submitted a counteroffer Monday after Republicans released revised legislation Sunday, leaving the sides divided ahead of the vote.

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Banking groups separately sought tighter limits on stablecoin rewards, arguing that payments resembling interest could pull deposits from banks and reduce lending. Stablecoins are tokens typically pegged to the dollar.

Stand With Crypto said its supporters called or emailed Congress nearly 50,000 times in August, while organizing local events and placing opinion pieces in newspapers. The campaign targeted senators in their home states during the congressional recess, as community bankers mounted their own lobbying effort.

“The CLARITY Act remains the top policy priority for our three million grassroots advocates nationwide who we will keep mobilizing until this gets done,” Lynaugh said.

The group said it had scored senators’ votes and would incorporate them into its public ratings, which track lawmakers’ positions on crypto policy. It also pointed to its endorsements of incumbent House candidates as it prepares for the midterms.

Lynaugh argued that supporters had helped elect a Congress more favorable to crypto and would judge lawmakers on whether they delivered. The group’s response put passage of the bill at the center of its election campaign.

“The results of today’s vote make it clear which officials are with our community, and which are against us—and we’ll make sure our advocates are ready to cast their ballots accordingly in this and future elections,” he said.