Bitcoin has slipped back below US$78,000 after briefly breaking through US$79,000 overnight, with cryptocurrency markets turning cautious ahead of a potentially decisive vote on sweeping US digital asset legislation.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency traded at about US$77,960 early Tuesday after reaching an overnight high near US$79,580. Bitcoin had gained more than 2% on Monday before surrendering some of those advances.
Attention has shifted firmly to Washington, where the US Senate is scheduled to hold a procedural vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act at 2.15pm Eastern Time on Tuesday.
The vote is not final passage of the legislation. Senators will decide whether to invoke cloture on a motion to proceed with the bill, requiring 60 votes to advance it towards debate.
Crypto regulation faces major test
The Clarity Act would establish a broad federal regulatory framework for digital assets and clarify the respective responsibilities of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Republican senators released a revised version of the legislation ahead of the vote containing 126 substantive changes requested by Democrats, including stronger ethics and consumer-protection provisions.
The revised language also attempts to address concerns from banks that crypto products could pull deposits away from traditional lenders. Whether the changes have attracted enough Democratic support to reach the 60-vote threshold remains uncertain.
President Donald Trump has agreed to much of a bipartisan ethics proposal covering crypto interests held by elected officials and their families, removing one of the major obstacles to negotiations.
The crypto industry has spent heavily pushing for the legislation, arguing that clearer rules would provide companies with greater certainty over whether digital assets fall under securities or commodities regulation.
XRP jumps ahead of vote
XRP has been one of the clearest beneficiaries of optimism surrounding the legislation.
The token surged around 7% on Monday, climbing as high as US$1.49 before easing to around US$1.42 early Tuesday.
Bitcoin briefly moved above US$79,000 overnight, while Ethereum and Solana also advanced as traders positioned ahead of the vote. Ether was trading around US$2,530 during early Asian trade, while Solana was around US$102.
Fed decision next
Crypto markets have another major catalyst immediately behind the Senate vote.
The US Federal Reserve is due to announce its latest interest-rate decision on Wednesday, leaving Bitcoin caught between the prospect of a significant regulatory breakthrough and concerns that tighter monetary policy could weigh on risk assets.
Bitcoin has struggled to establish itself above US$80,000 despite briefly reaching a three-month high of US$82,163 earlier in September.
That puts the market in an unusually event-heavy 48-hour window.
Tuesday will test whether Washington can finally move comprehensive crypto regulation forward. Wednesday will determine whether monetary policy gives digital assets room to capitalise on it.