All Democratic senators and three Republicans in the chamber on Thursday voted to block a major cryptocurrency bill from advancing on the Senate floor, despite a week of negotiations.
The chamber voted 48-49 to not proceed on the crypto bill, which would have established the first-ever U.S. regulatory framework for digital tokens whose value is pegged to the dollar, per Politico. The legislation has met with bipartisan support in the past.
The three Republicans who voted against advancing the legislation to a final vote were Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who entered a motion to reconsider that allows them to vote on the bill later.
The legislation needed 60 votes in order to invoke cloture and move to a final vote.
Some Senate Democrats said they still hope to pass the legislation in the future with moderations, and that this was not the end of the crypto debate.
“We need time,” Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego said. “We’re not shutting down. We don’t want to shut this down to the point where we are ending all this work we have put into it. We want to bring this economy and this economy and this innovation to the United States.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent slammed the vote in a post on social media, claiming senators “missed an opportunity” to lead on cryptocurrency on the global stage.
“This bill represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to expand dollar dominance and U.S. influence in financial innovation,” Bessent wrote on X. “Without it, stablecoins will be subject to a patchwork of state regulations instead of a streamlined federal framework that is more conducive to growth and competitiveness.
“The world is watching while American lawmakers twiddle their thumbs,” he continued. “Senators who voted to stonewall U.S. ingenuity today face a simple choice: Either step up and lead or watch digital asset innovation move offshore.”
Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.
