Bitcoin fell below $77,000 on Tuesday as traders moved away from risk ahead of a key Senate vote on the CLARITY Act and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision.
Bitcoin traded near $76,000 after declining as much as 3% Tuesday morning. The token fell as low as $75,500 ahead of the CLARITY Act vote before bouncing back above $76,000.
Broader markets were also under pressure. US stock indexes opened lower while Treasury yields moved toward their highest levels since 2023 and oil prices climbed on concerns about Middle East supply.
The selloff comes ahead of a Senate cloture vote on the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act scheduled for 2:15 p.m. ET. The procedural vote requires 60 votes to formally open debate on the legislation.
A failed vote would not permanently kill the bill but could delay comprehensive US crypto market structure legislation until after the midterm elections.
Bitcoin is also facing technical pressure after recently forming a golden cross, with the 50 day exponential moving average crossing above the 200 day average.
The token has now fallen below the $79,113 technical level and is approaching support near $75,569. A sustained move below that level could put the next support zone around $73,986 in focus.
The decline also comes one day before the Federal Reserve’s rate decision, with traders increasingly pricing in the possibility of another rate increase.