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Bitcoin could face a longer period of regulatory uncertainty after the CLARITY Act stalled in the U.S. Senate, although the setback has not changed BTC’s current classification as a digital commodity.

According to a Sept. 22 report from Bitplanet Research Lab, the failed Senate vote primarily delayed efforts to put the definition of digital commodities and a regulatory framework for spot markets into federal law. The SEC and CFTC’s existing interpretation of Bitcoin remains unchanged.

The Senate rejected a cloture motion to begin consideration of H.R. 3633 on Sept. 15 by 49 votes to 50, with one senator not voting. The motion needed 60 votes to advance, meaning lawmakers never reached the amendment process or a final vote on the legislation.

As crypto.news reported after the vote, Bitcoin faces less regulatory uncertainty from the setback than altcoins, decentralized finance platforms, exchanges and token issuers. Attention has instead moved toward how the SEC and CFTC use their existing powers while legislation remains stalled.

Bitcoin faces limited immediate impact from the CLARITY Act setback

Bitcoin’s existing regulatory treatment provides some insulation from the failure of the bill.

The SEC and CFTC issued a joint interpretation on March 17 that placed crypto assets into five categories, including digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins and digital securities. Bitcoin was among the assets specifically named as examples of digital commodities.

The agencies’ joint crypto interpretation identified BTC alongside Ether, Solana and XRP, among other assets, as digital commodities rather than securities. The interpretation did not replace the Howey test, meaning securities laws can still apply depending on how an asset is offered or sold.

The distinction limits what the failed CLARITY Act vote immediately changes for Bitcoin. Bitplanet said BTC continues to be treated as a commodity under the March interpretation, while the legislative setback concerns the rules surrounding the market in which it trades.

Under the House passed version of the CLARITY Act, digital commodity exchanges, brokers and dealers would have been required to register with the CFTC. Spot trading conducted through entities registered or required to register with the regulator would fall under its exclusive supervision.

Without the legislation, the CFTC still lacks statutory authority to supervise the entire digital commodity spot market, according to the report. Bitcoin therefore keeps its current classification, while the federal registration and supervision regime intended for exchanges and intermediaries remains unfinished.

Bitcoin’s commodity status remains based on agency interpretation

A longer term issue for Bitcoin is that its current regulatory treatment has not been written into federal law.

Bitplanet noted that the SEC and CFTC interpretation is neither a statute nor a binding rule. BlackRock cited the same distinction as a risk factor in the second quarter report for its iShares Bitcoin Trust, noting that a court or future administration could reach a different conclusion.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins has similarly argued that legislation is needed to prevent future regulators from reversing current policy.

The CLARITY Act would have provided a statutory definition of digital commodities and established the regulatory structure surrounding their spot markets. Its failure to clear the Senate procedural hurdle leaves Bitcoin dependent in part on the existing interpretation while Congress considers whether to revisit the legislation.

A crypto.news analysis of digital commodities in June noted that the March classification was interpretive and could be revised by a future administration. The CLARITY Act was designed to put the digital commodity category into federal statute.

For Bitcoin, Bitplanet said the current classification would need to be reassessed if the SEC and CFTC withdrew or amended their March interpretation or if a federal court reached a different conclusion.

Bitcoin ETF flows show the initial market impact has faded

Bitcoin and crypto related markets reacted sharply when the Senate vote failed, although the selloff did not persist.

The 12 U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $450.4 million in combined net outflows on Sept. 15. Fidelity’s FBTC lost $214.8 million, while BlackRock’s IBIT posted $161.7 million in withdrawals. The daily total was approximately 2.8 times the $159.9 million net inflow recorded during the previous trading session.

Bitcoin fell 3.39% from $78,316 to $75,663 based on the aggregate price data used by Bitplanet. Coinbase closed 10.10% lower and Circle dropped 11.41% during the same session.

Bitplanet cautioned against treating the CLARITY Act vote as the sole cause. The vote occurred during the Federal Reserve’s September meeting, while interest rates and oil prices were affecting risk assets at the same time. The report said those variables prevented it from isolating the regulatory component of Bitcoin’s decline.

Selling pressure subsequently reversed. Bitcoin rebounded 5.8% to $80,890 on Sept. 18, while spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $159.5 million in net inflows on Sept. 17 and another $433 million the following day. Short liquidations occurred during the rebound, making it difficult to attribute the recovery solely to regulatory developments.

BTC has since extended its recovery. Bitcoin climbed above $86,000 and briefly touched $87,000 on Sept. 22, its highest level since late January, as falling oil prices, lower Treasury yields, short covering and returning institutional demand supported the move.

HashKey Group senior researcher Tim Sun told crypto.news that ETF inflows confirmed the rally instead of initiating it, while describing short term ETF flows as tending to move with Bitcoin’s price rather than predict its direction.

The recovery has left BTC well above the level seen immediately after the failed Senate vote. Bitplanet identified continued spot ETF flows as one of the factors to monitor, noting that the four trading sessions between Sept. 15 and Sept. 18 still produced a cumulative net outflow of $153.8 million despite the inflows during the final two sessions.

SEC and CFTC rules could determine what comes next for Bitcoin

With the legislation stalled, both regulators are moving ahead with crypto related measures using their existing authority.

CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said in August that staff had been directed to review a crypto asset market structure rule that could proceed under existing statutory powers. The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs received the CFTC’s “Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets” proposal on Sept. 17. The filing was still at the prerule stage when Bitplanet published its report, and its substance had not been made public.

The SEC moved separately after the Senate vote. On Sept. 17, the regulator introduced a five year Innovation Exemption covering qualifying tokenized stock trading platforms and liquidity providers.

Under the five year SEC exemption, eligible tokenized securities venues can facilitate trading in tokenized National Market System stocks through permissioned automated market makers and liquidity pools, subject to conditions covering shareholder rights, trading limits and smart contract transparency.

Bitcoin could have a role in those markets. Bitplanet said trading pairs that exchange eligible tokenized stocks directly against non security crypto assets such as BTC can fall within the exemption. The measure does not change Bitcoin’s classification or give the CFTC authority over the entire spot market.

Congress could still revisit the CLARITY Act. Sen. Thom Tillis voted against the Sept. 15 cloture motion in a way that allowed him to file a motion to reconsider and formally requested reconsideration immediately after the vote. Any second cloture attempt would still require 60 votes to advance.

XRP Ledger has moved PermissionDelegationV1_1 into its 14 day activation period after 29 of the network’s 35 trusted validators backed the account permission upgrade.

According to the live XRP Ledger amendment dashboard, the countdown began on Sept. 21 and could put PermissionDelegationV1_1 into effect on Oct. 5 at 11:18 UTC if validator support remains above the required threshold throughout the period.

At least 28 of the 35 trusted validators must continue supporting the amendment. If backing falls below that level before the countdown ends, the activation timer will reset.

PermissionDelegationV1_1 splits XRP Ledger account authority

PermissionDelegationV1_1 changes how an XRP Ledger account can give another account authority to perform specific tasks.

Under the current account structure, businesses that need different systems or employees to carry out operations can face the problem of giving an operational account more authority than it actually needs. Permission Delegation is designed to separate those responsibilities.

An account could, for example, authorize another account to make payments without giving it permission to change the primary account’s keys. A stablecoin issuer could keep its main keys offline while giving an internet connected compliance system permission to approve customers to hold its token.

Each delegated account can receive up to 10 permissions, while the account granting the authority retains the ability to change or revoke them.

The arrangement resembles the separation of responsibilities commonly used by financial institutions, where payment, compliance and administrative functions do not necessarily share the same level of access.

PermissionDelegationV1_1 forms part of a larger group of amendments introduced through xrpld 3.3.0. The release included BatchV1_1, ConfidentialTransfer, DynamicMPT and Sponsor alongside Permission Delegation, with several of the features geared toward institutional transactions and token issuance.

Sponsor would allow another entity to cover transaction fees and reserve requirements for users without controlling their accounts. DynamicMPT gives issuers more flexibility over selected Multi Purpose Token properties, while ConfidentialTransfer is designed to conceal MPT balances and payment amounts from public view while retaining access mechanisms for authorized parties.

Crypto.news previously reported that ConfidentialTransfer targets institutional use cases where companies may need transaction privacy while still providing information to auditors and other authorized parties.

Permission Delegation returns after an earlier security flaw

PermissionDelegationV1_1 is the second attempt to bring delegated account permissions to the XRP Ledger.

The original amendment was stopped before reaching the main network after a community tester reported a vulnerability on Sept. 15, 2025.

Under the affected implementation, the software checked whether an account had permission to perform a transaction before properly verifying its signature. Certain rejected transactions could still incur a fee.

An attacker could therefore have submitted unauthorized transactions carrying deliberately high fees and caused another account to pay them even though the transactions were not properly signed. Repeating the process could have depleted the victim’s available XRP balance.

Validators were advised not to support the amendment after the vulnerability was discovered, preventing the affected version from activating on mainnet.

The replacement was included in xrpld 3.3.0 with changes to how unauthorized transactions are handled. Signature verification now takes place before the type of failure that could charge the targeted account.

Permission Delegation is not the only feature from the release to return after security work. BatchV1_1 replaced an earlier Batch implementation after developers found a separate critical signing vulnerability. The revised Batch upgrade has moved through validator voting after fixes and further review.

Could PermissionDelegationV1_1 affect XRP price?

PermissionDelegationV1_1 does not directly change XRP’s supply, issuance schedule or token economics, leaving no mechanical reason for its activation alone to create substantial new demand for XRP.

The amendment deals with account permissions instead of the XRP token itself. Institutions using delegated accounts would still use XRP for the ledger’s normal fees and reserve requirements, but the feature does not require them to buy or hold large amounts of XRP simply to use delegated permissions.

Recent developments on the network show why the distinction between XRPL adoption and XRP demand matters.

A previous analysis of Ripple Prime’s XRP exposure found that even substantial institutional activity inside Ripple’s ecosystem does not automatically translate into equivalent XRP demand. Stablecoins and other issued assets can handle much of the underlying value transfer while XRP retains roles including transaction fees, reserves and some routing functions.

A similar structure applies to Permission Delegation. Stablecoin issuers, tokenized asset providers and other businesses could use the feature without making XRP the asset being transferred.

The possible price connection instead depends on whether the upgrade helps bring more activity to the XRP Ledger over time.

Institutional issuers that want to keep high authority keys offline could use delegated accounts for recurring payments or compliance tasks. If those capabilities contribute to more businesses issuing assets and processing transactions on XRPL, the resulting activity would create more use of the network, where XRP remains the native asset used for fees and reserves.

Evidence so far suggests that network growth and XRP price do not always move together. RLUSD and tokenized assets have expanded on XRPL while XRP has experienced periods of price weakness, showing that rising ledger activity does not necessarily produce immediate buying pressure for the token.

A June institutional test involving JPMorgan, Mastercard, Ondo Finance and Ripple provided another example. The tokenized Treasury redemption used the XRP Ledger, but XRP was not the asset being redeemed. Its direct role remained tied to the underlying network infrastructure.

PermissionDelegationV1_1 could therefore provide another piece of infrastructure for institutional users without becoming a major standalone XRP price catalyst.

A market reaction around activation remains possible because traders can respond to network upgrades and expectations surrounding adoption. Any sustained price effect, however, would depend on subsequent use of the feature and other market factors instead of the amendment simply switching on.

XRP Ledger is building more tools for institutional transactions

Permission Delegation is moving toward activation while several other XRP Ledger features remain at different stages of the amendment process.

BatchV1_1 is designed to bundle multiple operations into a coordinated transaction, allowing every included action to succeed or fail together. Such a structure can support settlement processes where an asset and its payment need to change hands at the same time.

ConfidentialTransfer would give Multi Purpose Token issuers the option to conceal balances and transfer amounts while leaving accounts visible. Authorized parties could still receive information needed for compliance under the proposed design.

XRPL developers have continued work beyond the 3.3.0 release. Version 3.4.0, released on Sept. 16, introduced revisions to proposed lending functions alongside another package of protocol fixes.

The lending framework remains subject to the network’s amendment process, with validator approval required before the proposed functions can become active on mainnet.

NEAR Protocol has gained a new trading catalyst after its native token was deployed on Hyperliquid’s spot market, opening NEAR/USDC trading alongside an already active perpetual futures market.

According to NEAR Protocol’s Sept. 23 announcement, users can now trade NEAR against USDC on Hyperliquid, although the token will take several more days to appear on the platform’s Strict List under its normal deployment process.

Binance has set Sept. 29 as the start of a phased migration that will move non-stock crypto assets from Funding Accounts into Spot Accounts before the Funding Account becomes a dedicated Stocks Account in January 2027.

Binance said the migration will continue through January, with individual batches and the exact account-renaming date to be announced later. The Stocks Account will be reserved for U.S. equities, stock options and six settlement assets: USD, USDC, USDT, USD1, U and BNB.

Users do not need to complete the transfer manually. Binance plans to add a One-Click Migration feature for customers who want to move supported balances earlier, while remaining non-stock assets will transfer automatically in batches starting in January. The company says aggregate balances and historical transaction records will remain intact.

Binance Stocks Account will separate equities from crypto

From Sept. 29, the Funding Account will stop accepting on-chain deposits as Binance starts separating stock settlement from its regular cryptocurrency wallet structure. Non-stock crypto deposits and withdrawals will run through Spot Accounts.

The six settlement assets will remain transferable internally between Spot and the future Stocks Account. Binance’s FAQ states that direct on-chain deposits and withdrawals will not be available from the Stocks Account, including for those six assets. A user who wants to withdraw USDT, USDC, BNB or another supported settlement asset must first transfer it internally to Spot.

The account will retain direct U.S. equities and stock options because Binance says securities settlement must occur through a dedicated account. Other crypto assets will be consolidated in Spot, which the exchange says is intended to remove overlap between its current Funding and Spot structures.

A separate distinction applies to bStocks. Binance’s tokenized securities will not remain inside the Stocks Account even though their prices track equities. Existing bStock balances held in Funding Accounts can move through One-Click Migration and will otherwise transfer automatically to Spot beginning in January. Newly converted bStocks will go directly to Spot.

As previously reported, Binance launched tokenized U.S. equities with 24/7 bStocks trading in June. Those products are backed by underlying securities but differ from direct stocks because bStocks are blockchain-based tokens and do not give holders direct shareholder rights.

Sept. 29 changes affect Pay, Convert and Binance Alpha

The migration reaches several services that have historically relied on Funding Accounts.

Beginning Sept. 29, assets received through Binance Pay, Binance Card and Gift Card will be credited to Spot Accounts. Funding balances can temporarily remain payment sources for Pay, but Binance plans to remove Funding before the Stocks Account rename.

Once Funding disappears as a Pay source, recurring send plans funded solely from that account will stop executing. Users relying on those plans will need to select another payment source. Binance has not disclosed the exact date when Funding will stop supporting Pay deductions.

Convert orders receive a similar account change without canceling open trades. Existing limit orders with assets frozen in Funding will stay open, but orders that settle or expire after Sept. 29 will return funds to Spot. New limit orders created from that date will freeze and settle funds solely in Spot.

Recurring Convert orders will settle into Spot or Earn according to the user’s configuration, while failed-order refunds will return to Spot. Binance recommends changing account selections from Funding to Spot where required for existing recurring plans.

For Binance Alpha 2.0, stablecoins used in limit-order purchases and sales will move through Alpha Accounts from Sept. 29. Liquidity-provider rebates for the Alpha limit-order program will be credited there as well. Binance says Alpha users do not need to create a separate account because the Alpha Account already forms part of its account structure.

API users face a technical adjustment. Binance advises integrations that currently reference Funding Accounts to change their account reference to Spot as settlement activity moves away from Funding.

P2P advertisers get a separate account in December

P2P activity will move in stages because advertisers still rely on Funding Accounts for posted advertisements and merchant deposits.

From Sept. 29, normal P2P users who have no advertisement history during the previous three months or do not have merchant status will use Spot as the default source for buy and sell orders after updating the Binance app.

Advertisers will continue using Funding for maker orders, taker orders, advertisements and related deposits until December. Binance then plans to introduce a dedicated P2P Account and guide advertisers through moving assets connected with their listings.

Existing advertisements can remain active during the transition, and Binance says their original update times will be preserved so the migration does not alter ranking information in the P2P marketplace. New advertisers joining after the dedicated P2P Account arrives will be directed into the new structure.

After January 2027, Binance says P2P advertisements that have not moved into the dedicated account will be closed automatically. The exchange warns that P2P activity may be interrupted for app users who fail to update to a version supporting the new account structure.

Stocks Account follows Binance’s equity expansion

The account change comes after Binance spent several months expanding from crypto trading into direct equities and securities-linked products.

On June 1, the exchange launched direct access to more than 7,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs for eligible users. Binance says customers directly own fractional shares held through regulated brokerage infrastructure, with purchases starting from $5. Product access remains subject to regional restrictions.

One month later, Binance reported that users held more than $1 billion in U.S. equities through Direct Stocks and had generated close to $3 billion in cumulative trading volume. Around 73% of users came from emerging markets, according to company data.

In related coverage, Binance’s Direct Stocks product crossed $1 billion in holdings within 30 days after its June launch. The product gives eligible customers direct securities exposure, unlike bStocks or equity-linked perpetual contracts.

Binance expanded the securities lineup on Sept. 1 when it launched physically settled options on selected U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs. Users can buy calls or puts, while the initial version does not permit customers to write options. Exercised contracts settle into the underlying shares.

As crypto.news previously reported, Binance introduced U.S. stock and ETF options for eligible users as part of its TradFi product lineup. Stock options and direct equities will remain in the future Stocks Account, while bStocks stay within Spot after the migration.

Binance later launched an ETF wealth-management offering with 11 U.S.-listed funds. In related coverage, the 11-ETF product focused largely on Treasury and investment-grade bond funds, with actual ETF shares held through brokerage infrastructure.

The Funding Account name will remain visible during the transition and in historical records. Binance says the formal Stocks Account rename will occur sometime in January 2027, but the exact date has not yet been published.

Users with older mobile-app versions will not see the One-Click Migration tool. Binance says their remaining balances will still move automatically once backend migration batches begin, while users wanting to transfer assets earlier should update to the latest iOS or Android application.

Nasdaq-listed exchange Coinbase COIN now allows its users to borrow dollar-pegged stablecoin USDC agains their bitcoin holdings with no surprises on what they’ll pay in interest.

The exchange has rolled out fixed-rate, bitcoin-backed USDC loans, with the interest rate and repayment date set at the time of borrowing, an alternative to the floating-rate loans Coinbase already offers.

“The move takes onchain borrowing beyond the predominantly variable-rate model, giving users greater certainty over the cost and duration of their borrowing,” according to an announcement on Tuesday.

The fixed-rate offering runs on Morpho Midnight, a decentralized, non-custodial lending protocol for fixed-rate and fixed-term crypto loans launched in July this year. It settles transactions on Coinbase’s Ethereum layer 2 network Base.

It marks a meaningful shift from how Coinbase’s lending has worked until now. It’s existing loans run on the Morpho Blue protocol, where rates change, determined by demand and supply conditions and can climb when borrowing demand spikes. The new fixed-rate option sits alongside this floating one, which has more than $1.4 billion in active loans backed by nearly $3 billion of collateral.

Hyperliquid’s open interest has topped $18 billion for the first time, reaching a record as trading activity continues across its crypto and non crypto perpetual markets.

According to Lookonchain, official Hyperliquid data showed open interest at $18 billion on Sept. 23, above the previous record of $16.36 billion reached on Sept. 19.