The big story is regulatory uncertainty in the US. The Senate Banking Committee postponed a markup hearing on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (often called the CLARITY Act), a proposed bill aiming to clarify whether most crypto tokens are securities or commodities and set clearer rules for the industry.
• Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong publicly said the draft version “would be materially worse than the current status quo,” leading to pushback and the delay.
• This has cooled enthusiasm after Bitcoin’s recent rally (it had climbed from the low $90,000s toward $97k+ on hopes of clearer, more favorable rules).
• Trading volumes are down ~13% in the past day, with some “risk-off” moves across crypto.
$BTC Other notes:
• US Bitcoin ETFs saw strong inflows earlier this week (over $1.7B in a few days), but momentum has slowed.
• Broader macro tailwinds like stable inflation data and potential Fed rate cut expectations in 2026 have supported risk assets, including BTC, but the bill stall is weighing on sentiment.
• Some analysts still see upside potential (e.g., targets toward $130k+ in optimistic scenarios), but near-term it’s range-bound/choppy around $95k.
