CryptocurrencySeptember 17, 2026 · By Jake Rivers
Welcome back, crypto watchers. It has been a week that would test anyone’s nerves: a landmark crypto bill stalled in the Senate, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since 2023, and exchange-traded funds kept bleeding cash. And yet the Bitcoin price is holding its ground near $76,600. Let’s unpack why, and what could move it next.
Where the Bitcoin price stands today
According to CoinDesk, Bitcoin traded at about $76,621 on Thursday, up 0.88% over 24 hours and roughly 6.9% below its monthly high of $82,284. Ether rose 1.1% to around $2,444 and Solana gained 2% to just above $100. The rally was broad: 94 of the 100 tokens in the CoinDesk 100 index were higher, and smaller tokens outperformed.
Source: CoinDesk market data, Sept. 17, 2026. Crypto prices move quickly and will have changed.
The Clarity Act setback
Tuesday was rougher. The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which would set federal rules for the roughly $2.3 trillion crypto industry and divide oversight between the SEC and the CFTC, failed a procedural vote 49–50, well short of the 60 votes needed, Axios reports. Republican Senators Susan Collins, Josh Hawley and Jerry Moran voted no, and Democrats objected to what they saw as weak ethics guardrails around President Trump’s own crypto dealings.
Decrypt tracked the Bitcoin price sliding from about $77,200 before the vote to a session low near $75,600 as the “no” votes piled up, for a loss of nearly 4% on the day. Polymarket odds of the bill becoming law this year dropped to 17% from about 34%. The Digital Chamber called the result a “setback” rather than a final defeat.
How the Fed hike shaped the Bitcoin price
Higher interest rates usually weigh on speculative assets, so a rate hike might have been expected to hurt. Instead, traders appeared to look past it. CoinDesk notes that the move to 3.75%–4.00% had been widely priced in, and that Fed projections imply only limited further tightening. The dollar softened, stock futures rose and gold gained about 1%, a classic relief pattern.
The caution flags
- ETF outflows. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs lost about $296 million on Wednesday and $450 million on Tuesday, taking seven-session outflows past $1 billion. Total net assets stand near $95.2 billion, per CoinDesk.
- Leverage is building. Aggregate futures open interest climbed to $64.4 billion from $59.7 billion on Monday, with $214 million in liquidations over the past day.
- A slow grind lower. BTCC’s weekly report showed Bitcoin down 3.4% last week even as Ether ETFs logged a fourth straight week of inflows.
The surprise star: Zcash
The week’s standout was privacy coin Zcash, which jumped about 23% to a record near $1,369, giving it a market value of roughly $23.2 billion. CoinDesk reports that Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang disclosed the firm owns Zcash, describing it as “a private complement to Bitcoin.”
What could move the Bitcoin price next
Regulation is not standing still. On Thursday the SEC issued a five-year “innovation exemption” for tokenized stock trading, and Chair Paul Atkins said that “with or without that legislation, this Administration will deliver for American investors and technological innovators,” according to Axios. Beyond Washington, keep an eye on ETF flows, oil prices and the next inflation print, all of which feed into the Fed’s path and, in turn, the Bitcoin price. As always, crypto remains volatile, so size your expectations accordingly.
Sources
- CoinDesk — Bitcoin rises as traders look past the Fed’s rate increase: Crypto Markets Today
- Axios — Crypto’s Clarity Act fails to advance in Senate
- Decrypt — Bitcoin Slides as Clarity Act Fails to Clear Senate Vote
- BTCC — Crypto Weekly Report (Sept. 14, 2026)
- CoinDesk — SEC rolls out ‘innovation exemption’ for tokenized securities trading venues
