CLARITY Act Rejection Sends Crypto Lower; BitMine Shares Fall 4% as Regulatory Path Shifts

The U.S. Senate voted 49-50 against advancing the CLARITY Act on September 15, falling 11 votes short of the 60 needed to end debate, according to 247wallst. The defeat leaves crypto market-structure rules in the hands of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission rather than Congress, at least for the rest of 2026.

**XRP tumbled nearly 8%** in the immediate aftermath, while Ethereum fell roughly 3% and Solana dropped 3.5%, 247wallst reported. Bitcoin slipped about 1.5% to around $75,800, holding up better than major altcoins. Benzinga reported that analyst Ray Salmond called the CLARITY Act failure a setback but not a derailment, as regulators may sustain adoption.

BitMine (BMNR) shares fell 4% alongside the broader crypto selloff and Bitcoin’s decline, according to Benzinga. Technicials for the stock showed mixed signals.

**Why Bitcoin took a smaller hit** is partly explained by its regulatory status. 247wallst reported that the CLARITY Act would have left Bitcoin’s commodity classification largely untouched, since that classification was “never the binding constraint” for Bitcoin, as Rachael Lucas of BTC Markets said in the report. Bitcoin’s 90-day correlation with gold reached about 0.50 in early September, its highest level since 2020, while its correlation with the Nasdaq 100 fell to roughly 0.30 from about 0.60 — its lowest in a year, according to Bitwise data using Bloomberg figures cited by 247wallst. That suggests Bitcoin was trading more like a macro asset, while sharper declines in XRP, Ethereum and Solana reflected a larger regulatory risk premium for other parts of the market.

Coinbase, the listed exchange most exposed to the proposed rules, fell 8.65% in the same session, 247wallst noted.

**Macro pressures were already mounting** before the Senate vote. Brent crude closed at $108.75 and WTI at $105.83 after Saudi Arabia shut its East-West pipeline, while the 10-year Treasury yield touched its highest intraday level since 2007, according to 247wallst. Bitcoin’s session low came as WTI surged before the vote, suggesting oil and yields were already weighing on risk assets.

The Federal Reserve added another source of pressure. CME FedWatch put the odds of a 25-basis-point rate hike at the September 16 meeting between 88% and 94% ahead of the vote, and the Fed indeed delivered a quarter-point hike on Sept. 16 — its first since 2023, as reported by 247wallst during the market activity.

**ETF flows turned negative** again on Sept. 15. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $462.7 million of outflows over the four days through Sept. 11, then a net inflow of $160 million on Sept. 14, followed by roughly $450 million of outflows on Sept. 15 as Bitcoin came under renewed pressure, 247wallst reported.

**Price outlooks diverge** in the wake of the vote. 247wallst constructed scenario-based year-end ranges for XRP, Bitcoin, and Ethereum.

XRP price fell more than 10% after the failed vote and now trades near $1.30, down from above $1.50 earlier in the month. The base outlook for XRP is $1.50-$2.00 if ETF inflows hold up; a bear scenario of $0.95-$1.20; and a bull scenario of $2.25-$2.50 if Congress revives the CLARITY Act.

Bitcoin trades near $76,300 after slipping from around $80,000 before the Senate vote. The base outlook is $85,000-$92,000 with steady ETF inflows. A bear case of $65,000-$72,000 would follow another rate hike; a bull case of $100,000-$110,000 assumes the Fed’s September hike is its last.

Ethereum trades near $2,440, inside a range of roughly $2,350-$2,570. The base outlook is $2,800-$3,300 with staking uncertainty unresolved. A bear case sees $2,000-$2,300 if ETF flows slow further; a bull case of $3,500-$4,000 hinges on ETF inflows exceeding $1 billion and a revived CLARITY Act, 247wallst reported.

**Which asset faces the steepest climb?** On percentage terms, XRP needs roughly an 85% gain to reach the midpoint of its bull range ($2.40), Bitcoin needs about 31% to hit $100,000, and Ethereum needs roughly 27% to reach $3,100, according to 247wallst’s analysis. The article concluded that Bitcoin carries the deepest ETF market and institutional infrastructure, while XRP has the largest recovery burden and highest sensitivity to sentiment.

For Bitcoin, reclaiming $78,189 — the September 15 opening price — would be “the first sign the market is pricing out the regulatory discount,” as Lucas said in the 247wallst report. Below current levels, key supports are $75,000, $74,000 and $72,000, with the June 30 low of $58,562 as a deeper floor. A break below $74,000 would shift attention to macro pressures from oil, Treasury yields, and Fed policy rather than the failed CLARITY vote.