Bitcoin traded close to $64,785 on Thursday, absorbing a week's worth of macro and regulatory pressure without a dramatic move in either direction. Two forces dominated the past 24 hours: a Federal Reserve decision that left rates unchanged but rattled other markets, and a U.S. cryptocurrency bill that remains stuck in Senate negotiations.
Fed Holds, But Not Comfortably
Chair Kevin Warsh kept the federal funds rate at 3.5%–3.75%, according to Decrypt. The decision itself was expected. What unsettled traders was the tone. CoinDesk reported that the Fed's statement reflected a hawkish internal split, with officials leaving the door open to future rate increases rather than signaling cuts. The Dow fell 2.2% and the Nasdaq hit a three-month low. Oil surged 8% overnight following Iranian ballistic missile strikes, adding to the unease across risk assets.
Bitcoin's relative calm stood out. Analysts speaking to CoinDesk agreed the hawkish posture changes the calculus for risk assets broadly, but they were divided on whether Bitcoin's real test has already passed or is still weeks away. One point of agreement: a $286 million wipeout in leveraged positions around the Fed decision, hitting roughly 90,000 traders, cleared out some of the speculation that had been building. Losses fell nearly equally on bulls and bears, an unusual balance that suggests the market was genuinely caught off guard rather than leaning one way.
Bitcoin ETFs offered a slightly more encouraging signal. After four straight sessions of outflows, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $32.1 million in net inflows on Wednesday, according to Cointelegraph. The monthly picture is less flattering — CoinDesk noted that July is on track for the smallest monthly ETF inflows on record — but the single-day reversal suggests institutional interest has not evaporated.
Clarity Act in the Senate Crossfire
While markets processed the Fed, Capitol Hill continued its slow-moving fight over the Crypto Clarity Act. Senator Cynthia Lummis publicly criticized Democratic colleagues for delays, according to Bitcoin Magazine. At the same time, at least one Democratic senator signaled conditional support, pushing for added law enforcement provisions before backing the bill, a detail also reported by Bitcoin Magazine.
The banking lobby has been a persistent obstacle. Bitcoin Magazine reported that the CEO of a major banking trade group weighed in publicly, underscoring how much institutional finance still wants to shape the final language. The bill would establish clearer jurisdiction and registration rules for digital assets. Without it, exchanges and token issuers operate under a patchwork of agency guidance that creates real compliance uncertainty.
The path forward is narrow. Congress has a limited legislative calendar, and the longer negotiations drag, the more likely the bill gets pushed into a new session.
A Separate Security Concern
On the technical side, researchers published new findings on protecting Bitcoin wallets from future quantum computing attacks, according to Decrypt. The approach aims for backward compatibility — meaning existing Bitcoin addresses would not need to be abandoned. Separately, CoinDesk noted that an AI system called HAWK recently weakened a cryptographic algorithm in roughly 60 hours, a reminder that the timeline for quantum risk is not purely theoretical, even if no Bitcoin-specific algorithm has been compromised.
Charitable giving in Bitcoin moves through the same wallet infrastructure that researchers are working to protect. Donors who give through platforms like BitcoinForCharity.org benefit directly when the broader development community stays focused on long-term security.