Bitcoin has recovered to $76,362 after briefly falling below $75,000 during the latest sell-off, with the cryptocurrency now up about 0.2% on the day after moving between $76,055 and $76,774. According to crypto.news, the rebound came after the Federal Reserve delivered its first interest-rate increase in three years, raising the benchmark range by 25 basis points to 3.75%–4.00%. The rate decision had largely been priced into markets, helping Bitcoin avoid another sharp decline during Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's press conference. Bitcoin protected the $75,000 area and began consolidating between roughly $75,000 and $77,000, with the latest session showing improving 4-hour momentum that points to a possible short-term rebound. However, the Bitcoin Bull Score Index fell into bearish territory with a score of under 40 following the Fed's hawkish move, as noted by AMBCrypto, indicating that short-term holders are sending BTC to exchanges at a loss.
The cryptocurrency market experienced a brutal $600 million liquidation flush over the past 24 hours, with more than $570 million coming from long positions alone according to CoinGlass data. This represents the biggest long-liquidation wave since August 22nd, when Bitcoin peaked near $80,000 before selling pressure took over subsequent sessions. Bitcoin was down only 3%, with around $195 million in long positions liquidated, showing some resilience despite the broader market stress. Top-cap altcoins followed Bitcoin's decline, with XRP declining by 9.2% to $1.29, and Ethereum [ETH] falling 4.3% to $2,402, while Solana [SOL] fell to $97.10 as of writing. The global crypto market capitalization fell more than 2% to about $2.54 trillion, marking its lowest wick since the mid-August cycle and adding to the selling pressure across the board. CoinGlass's three-day liquidation heatmap shows the largest nearby pool of leveraged positions around $74,600 to $74,700, with liquidity also concentrated above the market between approximately $76,600 and $76,900, followed by a stronger zone around $77,500 to $77,800.
Interest rate futures put a 92.7% chance on the Federal Reserve raising rates on Wednesday, with the decision delivered on Sep. 16, raising the target rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75% to 4.00%. The probability had risen from 86.5% on the previous Friday to above 92.7% as the meeting drew closer, showing how quickly traders had adjusted their rate expectations. An increase of that size would lift the Fed's target range from 3.50%–3.75% to 3.75%–4.00%. The CME FedWatch tool put the odds of no change at 7.3% on Wednesday morning, with zero odds of a cut, indicating near-universal expectation for a quarter-point increase. The Federal Reserve's first increase since 2023 delivered the widely expected decision, though Bitcoin briefly reacted before remaining close to its four-week low. The 2026 Personal Consumption Expenditures inflation is projected at 3.7% for 2026, and is not expected to return to the 2% target till 2029, according to AMBCrypto. Rising borrowing costs tend to weaken demand for assets that do not generate fixed income, with investors able to earn higher returns from Treasury securities after a rate increase, raising the hurdle for holding volatile assets like Bitcoin.
The Senate failed to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, with the procedural vote receiving 50 votes in favor and 49 against but needing 60 votes to move forward. The proposed legislation sought to define how the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission would divide oversight of digital assets. The weekly decline followed the U.S. Senate's failure to advance the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act, with its failure reducing the prospect of Congress establishing a federal crypto market structure before the November midterm elections. A recent CLARITY Act analysis noted that the revised text had expanded from roughly 616 pages to 635 pages, including language covering the division of authority between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Failure to advance the measure would leave the current regulatory framework in place, adding to the uncertainty facing the cryptocurrency market.
Bitcoin's daily Chaikin Money Flow has fallen to -0.11, indicating that capital outflows have overtaken inflows after spending much of late August and early September above zero. A negative CMF reading indicates that selling pressure has exceeded buying pressure over the indicator's 20-period window, with the daily CMF dropping to -0.11, indicating that capital outflows have overtaken inflows. Bitcoin's 4-hour chart shows early signs that selling pressure is easing, with the MACD histogram moving slightly positive at 23.88, while the MACD line stands at minus 353.28 and the signal line at minus 377.16. The 4-hour Supertrend remains bearish at $78,596.72, with price sitting just below a nearby technical level around $76,648, making the $76,650–$77,000 zone the first barrier for buyers. A close above that range could allow Bitcoin to test $77,300, followed by the Supertrend near $78,600, while failure to clear $77,000 would keep the price vulnerable to another test of $75,000. The daily chart shows Bitcoin remains below the Bollinger Band midpoint at $78,028, with the RSI at 50.77 close to the neutral 50 level, showing momentum has cooled from overbought conditions but has not yet fallen into oversold territory.
