Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) attempted to tie Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) to Jeffrey Epstein during the CLARITY Act markup hearing Thursday, but her amendment forcing the release of Epstein-related bank records failed 11-13.

Warren’s Epstein Amendment Fails

Warren proposed an amendment calling for federal bank regulators to release bank supervisory information about Jeffrey Epstein’s activities.

“Jeffrey Epstein was an early backer of crypto,” Warren stated on the Senate floor. “He poured millions of dollars into Coinbase, one of the biggest benefactors of this bill, if it becomes law. Epstein recognized crypto’s potential as a tool to covertly facilitate illicit payments,” she added.

The Massachusetts senator argued the amendment would share sunlight on what bank supervisors knew and what banks might have known about Epstein’s activities.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) quickly countered that “confidential supervisory information is not germane to digital asset market structure.” The vote failed 11-13.

Sen. John Kennedy (R-KY) said afterward he would vote in favor if the term “co-conspirators” was stripped from the amendment. Warren accepted the change, but Chairman Tim Scott moved on regardless.

Multiple Warren Amendments Defeated

Warren’s amendment to remove sections 401, 402, and 403 addressing bank activity around digital assets failed 11-13. 

Another amendment to keep risky assets out of retirement accounts failed on partisan lines, also 11-13.

Warren’s amendment addressing sanctions authority and crypto mixers like Tornado Cash also failed 11-13. 

She argued the bill doesn’t give the Treasury Department legal authority to isolate mixers that have laundered billions.

“These types of crypto services are designed to make it easy to launder a huge pile of money,” Warren stated, citing Tornado Cash’s role in laundering more than $7 billion for criminals and foreign adversaries.

Bitcoin Rallies As CLARITY Act Advances

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) jumped above $81,000 as the Senate Banking Committee held the key hearing. President Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping offered to help Iran, easing geopolitical tensions and reducing risks to global oil supply chains.

The S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) hit 7,500 for the first time in history. AI chipmaker Cerebras set to debut after pricing its IPO at $185, with shares indicated to open around $400.

An amendment by Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) to facilitate portfolio margining passed on a bipartisan basis with 18 votes in favor and six opposed.

Warren: CLARITY Act ‘Just Not Ready’

Warren opened the hearing by declaring the CLARITY Act “is just not ready,” arguing Congress should focus on bringing down prices instead of working on “a bill written by the crypto industry for the crypto industry.”

Moreover, Warren cited a CoinDesk survey showing only 1% of registered U.S. voters said crypto was a top priority heading into the 2026 election.

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