Bitcoin and ethereum fall as CLARITY Act fails Senate vote
Bitcoin and ethereum prices dropped on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, after the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act failed to pass a procedural vote in the U.S. Senate. The decline occurred ahead of expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates later that day, a move that would mark the first rate hike in three years.
Bitcoin and ethereum prices dropped on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, after the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act failed to pass a procedural vote in the U.S. Senate. The decline occurred ahead of expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates later that day, a move that would mark the first rate hike in three years.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) opened at $75,586.51, a 3.3% decrease from Tuesday's opening price. By 7:12 a.m. ET, the price had recovered slightly to $75,885.53. Ethereum (ETH-USD) opened at $2,397.64, down 4.6% from Tuesday's open, and moved up to $2,404.43 by the same time.
The CLARITY Act failed to secure the required 60 votes in the Senate on Tuesday. Senate Democrats blocked the bill's advancement due to disagreements over government ethics provisions and presidential conflicts of interest. Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital, described the failure as a breakdown in the political process in a post on X.
Novogratz stated that despite eighteen months of collaboration between the industry and both political parties, the bill collapsed at the final stage. He argued that while most issues reached a compromise, both sides held firm on ethics. Republicans were concerned about limiting a President's ability to profit from digital assets, while Democrats focused on fighting corruption in that sector.
Brian Sozzi, Executive Editor at Yahoo Finance, reported on the legislative failure. President Trump and his family have significant investments in the crypto sector.
Performance data for Bitcoin shows it is down 3.6% from one week ago, up 19.9% from one month ago, and down 34.5% from one year ago. The all-time high for Bitcoin was $126,198.07 on October 6, 2025.
Ethereum is down 3.5% from one week ago, up 27.5% from one month ago, and down 47% from one year ago. Its all-time high was $4,953.73 on August 24, 2025.
Tax obligations apply when cryptocurrency is sold for more than its purchase price or exchanged for another asset. The IRS treats converting Bitcoin into Ethereum as a taxable event if the value changes. These taxes are reported on the annual tax return for the year in which the transaction occurred.
Tax rates depend on holding period and overall taxable income. Assets held for less than a year generally face higher rates than those held longer, with the difference potentially reaching 17% or more.
Filed by the digital assets desk of MarketPR on October 1, 2026. Source: finance.yahoo.com. Indicative figures are not investment advice.