Bitcoin is trading at $78,000 midway through September—historically crypto's weakest month—but is down just 1.5 percent, a contained sell-off despite a Federal Reserve rate hike and the collapse of the CLARITY Act in the Senate this week. The asset rallied 25 percent in August, topping $81,000, and is on track for a 32 percent quarterly gain—its first positive close since Q3 2025.
The Fed's 25-basis-point hike would have crushed Bitcoin in a different market regime. Instead, Bitcoin dipped briefly below $74,887 after the news, then snapped back. The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act failed to advance with only 49 Senate votes—10 short of the 60 required—and Bitcoin barely flinched.
That muted reaction matters. Mitchell Askew, head of Blockware Intelligence, attributed the stability to seller exhaustion: the traders and holders spooked by rate hikes and regulatory setbacks have already exited. "A 25-basis-point hike and the CLARITY Act failure would have significantly lowered prices in a different market environment," Askew said. "The market showed little movement." This pattern aligns with late-stage bottoming, suggesting medium-to-long-term strength.
Macroeconomic headwinds piled on this week. West Texas Intermediate crude spiked above $106 a barrel—a five-month high—as Middle East tensions flared. The Dollar Index topped 100, its strongest in over a month, tightening financial conditions for risk assets. The Bank of Japan raised its benchmark rate to a 31-year high, another global pressure.
Yet Fabian Do of Sygnum Bank offered context: rising yields and rates are not universally bearish. Rising yields signal debasement risk and sovereign counterparty risk—conditions that favor store-of-value assets like Bitcoin and gold. "For store-of-value assets, these conditions can act as positive drivers, explaining their outperformance alongside rising yields," Do said.
