Bitcoin tumbled to a monthly low of $75,000 on September 16 after the U.S. Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act, triggering a broad cryptocurrency selloff. The leading cryptocurrency was down as much as 5% to $76,110, while Ether dropped more than 8% to $2,400.
The CLARITY Act setback was the first of two major macro events weighing on digital assets. Bitcoin's volatility had already picked up after U.S. CPI data matched expectations, with a sharp move from $77,000 to $79,800 and back within two hours. Over the weekend BTC traded sideways near $77,000, then climbed to $79,500 on Monday afternoon before the Senate vote sent it tumbling from $77,000 to $75,000.
Altcoins were hit even harder. XRP fell below $1.30 after an 8% daily decline, retreating from a recent rejection near $1.50. SOL, DOGE, XMR, and HYPE posted similar losses, while LINK and ADA dropped about 5%. XLM slid 10% to $0.175. In contrast, BTW and ZEC managed to stay in positive territory.
Investor attention now shifts to the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision later tonight. Markets are pricing a 92% chance of a quarter-point rate hike, adding pressure across risk assets. The total crypto market capitalization fell more than 2.3% in a day to below $2.6 trillion, while Bitcoin's market cap dropped to $1.520 trillion and its dominance over altcoins rose to 59%.
U.S. stock futures were slightly higher and Asian markets were mixed ahead of the Fed announcement, but crypto remained under pressure following the regulatory disappointment.
