Bitcoin Plunges Below $75,000 as Senate Blocks CLARITY Act

Bitcoin's price plummeted below $75,000 on Tuesday after the US Senate blocked the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act. The bill aimed to establish a federal rulebook for digital assets but failed to advance with a procedural vote of 49-50, falling short of the required 60 votes. Despite clawing back above the round number in Asian hours, Bitcoin remains below its Monday close of $78,163.

The Senate's rejection of the bill led to a broad selloff across the crypto market, with Ethereum dropping over 8% and Coinbase closing 10% lower at $172.11. The total crypto market lost about 3%, or roughly $75 billion, in a single session.

Although the vote was procedural and not final, the legislative calendar before November's midterm elections is tight, and Senate work on the bill has effectively halted for the year. This leaves crypto markets with no near-term positive catalyst to offset a potential hawkish surprise from the Federal Reserve's decision tonight.