Bitcoin is facing one of its most bearish sentiment readings of the year, while U.S. senators escalate political pressure by asking the SEC to investigate President Donald Trump's meme coin. Data from Santiment shows Bitcoin's positive-to-negative commentary ratio dropped to 0.54 since July 31, meaning bearish comments now outnumber bullish ones by nearly two to one across major crypto communities.
The analytics firm linked the decline to events like Coldcard-related trust concerns and Strategy’s sale of 1,638 BTC ($105 million). Traders fear additional corporate Bitcoin sales could follow. However, Santiment noted that extreme fear often precedes relief rallies once panicked sellers exit.
Institutional flows also drew attention as BlackRock moved 1,948 BTC ($122 million) to Coinbase Prime. Analysts clarified this is routine ETF settlement activity for IBIT and does not signal outright selling. Still, the transfers highlight ongoing institutional engagement with spot Bitcoin ETFs.
On the political front, Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal formally requested an SEC investigation into Trump's memecoin, calling it a “rug pull.” The letter cited nearly 1 million crypto wallets losing a combined $3.81 billion since the TRUMP token launched in January 2025, and alleged that Trump earned $636 million from the project. The senators urged the SEC to examine whether the token’s promotion or trading violated securities or antifraud rules.
The probe request adds a new obstacle to the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, a bipartisan bill to split crypto oversight between agencies. Democrats previously rejected an earlier version over ethics provisions that wouldn’t extend to family members. With senators set to leave for August recess, the memecoin controversy could delay or derail the legislation, forcing regulators to shape crypto policy through agency actions instead of a new statute.
While the SEC has stated that typical memecoins are not securities, fraud or market manipulation investigations can still proceed. The senators’ request does not constitute an enforcement action, but it elevates the political stakes as the crypto market already grapples with weak sentiment and regulatory uncertainty.
