Bitcoin Price Holds $75,500 as Traders Price In Fed Rate Hike

Bitcoin’s price oscillated between $75,000 and $76,000 following a market slide triggered by the failed passage of the CLARITY Act in Congress. Investors are awaiting an upcoming Federal Reserve rate decision, where prediction markets expect a 25-basis-point hike.

WRITTEN BYTerence Zimwara
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Published:Sep 16, 2026, 1:52 PM EDT

Key Takeaways

• Bitcoin’s price fell below $75,000 as a failed CLARITY Act vote in Congress sparked over $140 million in liquidations.
• Crypto markets remain volatile while investors brace for a potential 25-basis-point Federal Reserve rate hike.
• Michael Saylor and Solowin Holdings predict firms will now rely on SEC rulemaking and overseas approvals.

Bitcoin Volatility Follows Failed CLARITY Act Vote

Bitcoin spent the last 24 hours hovering between $75,000 and $76,000 following a sharp drop triggered by the failed CLARITY Act vote. With investors awaiting the Federal Reserve’s rate decision, prediction markets widely expect a 25-basis-point hike based on recent jobs and inflation data. However, a surprise larger increase is seen as putting further pressure on bitcoin as it struggles to recover its August momentum.

Market data shows bitcoin briefly reclaimed $77,000 shortly after dipping below $76,000 Tuesday morning, but the rebound was short-lived. Just an hour later, the cryptocurrency fell to a new low of $74,913. The drop came as Congress’ failure to pass the crypto industry’s marquee bill dampened hopes for bitcoin to end2026 in green territory.

However, another sharp rebound saw bitcoin’s price breach the $76,000 mark before eventually finding strong support above $75,500. At the time of writing (12:21 p.m. EST), the bitcoin price hovered just above $75,700, bringing its daily losses to under 1% and leaving it down nearly 4% over seven days.

On the derivatives front, bitcoin’s topsy-turvy price action saw over $140 million in leveraged positions liquidated for the second consecutive day. This time, however, wiped-out long bets topped $110 million, a more than 10% increase from 24 hours earlier. This ratio of liquidated positions was mirrored by the rest of the cryptocurrency market, which saw $362 million in long bets wiped out versus $113 million in shorts.

Billed as crucial legislation for the crypto industry’s U.S. future, the CLARITY Act ultimately fell victim to partisan politics. Even so, industry heavyweights like Michael Saylor are framing the failed vote as a minor setback that doesn’t erase the progress made so far.

“With CLARITY stalled, I expect the SEC, CFTC, and Treasury to advance rules under existing law, banks to expand Bitcoin custody and loans against it, and more capital to favor Bitcoin and digital credit. GENIUS supports stablecoin adoption. Progress need not wait for Congress,” Saylor said in a post on X following the vote.

Industry Heavyweights Downplay Political Gridlock

Others, such as Joshua Riezman, chief legal and strategy officer at GSR, said that “with Congress unable to deliver comprehensive market structure legislation, all eyes will turn to [U.S.] regulators.”

Meanwhile, in a note shared with Bitcoin.com News following the vote, Solowin Holdings emphasized that banking on a notoriously gridlocked Congress for regulatory clarity was always a high-stakes gamble for crypto firms eager to establish a U.S. foothold. Anticipating legislative stagnation, Solowin proactively pivoted to crypto-friendly overseas jurisdictions. The firm secured regulatory approval from the Central Bank of Bahrain to issue stablecoins via its AX Coin subsidiary, while its Hong Kong-based brokerage, Solomon JFZ, clinched a spot as a pioneer participant in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s EnsembleTX pilot initiative.

The Nasdaq-listed holding company argued that the CLARITY Act’s failure has vindicated this move, as companies taking this approach are better placed to deal with agency-based supervision than those that pinned their hopes on legislation alone.

“That supervision now arrives through agencies rather than statute, on a timetable nobody controls, and the firms already carrying licences are the ones who get to ignore the question,” Solowin said in the note.

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Bitcoin (BTC)CLARITY ActFederal Reserveinterest ratesmarkets and prices

Source: news.bitcoin.com