Bitcoin Shrugs Off Clarity Act Defeat and Fed Rate Hike

BTC holds above $75K while the rising 50-day MA points to improving momentum

The Clarity Act failed in the Senate on Tuesday, after a 49 – 50 vote, which showed that even some Republicans voted against it. The bill needed 60 votes to invoke cloture, which would have brought the debate to an end.

Ethics provisions were the main reason the vote failed. It looks like the bill will not pass until the ties between senior politicians and crypto profits are fully severed. The bill is not necessarily dead, but given the current legislative schedule, it is very unlikely to pass in 2026.

Despite the major disappointment coming from the Clarity Act vote, Bitcoin remained surprisingly resilient. Although it dropped at the time of the vote, Bitcoin did not start a massive selloff on Tuesday. The day opened at $78,185 and closed at $75,577. Bad, yes, but not terrible.

The crypto market suffered another blow the day after the vote: the Fed lifted the interest rate by 25 bps. This hike was largely anticipated and already priced into the market, so the effect was just a bit of choppiness. Bitcoin dropped but quickly reversed and erased all losses.

Trump still advocates for lower rates.

In a post made on Truth Social, President Trump said “Interest Rates in the United States should be 1%, or less” and then urged the Fed to “LOWER THE INTEREST RATES FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND FAST”. When asked by reporters, Trump said he still has confidence in Warsh, but he’s got a very tough board and called the FOMC members “a bunch of politicians”.

It’s been a bad week from a fundamental point of view, with a failed Clarity Act cloture vote and a rate increase. Earlier in the year, such a string of events would have triggered a massive selloff, but the downside has been limited thus far. This is a sign of underlying Bitcoin strength, which could indicate that the downtrend is over.

Chart Analysis – BTC/USD

Bitcoin’s price action established short-term support at $75K and a break of this level could send it into the 50-day Moving Average (blue line on the chart). If the MA does not reject the price higher, then we may see a deeper pullback, possibly into the $71K area.

The moving averages are pointing up, but they do not indicate an uptrend yet. However, this is the first time the 50-day MA broke above the other two MAs since September 2025. It is a bullish sign, but for an uptrend to start, Bitcoin must clear the key level at $82K.