- Fed raised rates 25 basis points to 3.75-4.00%, first hike in three years.
- Tillis’ motion to reconsider keeps the CLARITY Act alive after a failed vote.
- Circle’s Arc mainnet launches with BlackRock and Visa as validators.
The global crypto market cap rose 1.0% to $2.70 trillion over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin traded at $76,270.01, up 0.7% on the day but still down 2.5% over the past week. Ethereum changed hands at $2,432.43, up 1.4% in 24 hours though down 1.6% over seven days.
BNB rose 1.8% to $723.86, roughly flat on the week. XRP gained 1.0% to $1.30, down 6.5% over seven days. Solana rose 2.8% to $99.42, down 1.9% over the week.
The Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate target range by 25 basis points to 3.75% to 4.00%, its first hike since July 2023. The FOMC voted unanimously. Among the 18 officials submitting projections, 16 expect at least one more 25 basis point hike by the end of 2026, with four projecting two more.
The median dot plot path points to one further hike this year, followed by steady rates in 2027 before a gradual decline. The CME FedWatch tool now puts the probability of an October hike at roughly 49.8%.
Trending Searches
Zcash led trending searches, up 21.1% to $1,356.12. Argus followed, up 45.5% to $0.01704, and NEAR Protocol rose 13.8% to $2.65. Among top gainers, Butterfly Life surged 232.3% to $0.03905, Bedrock climbed 167.6% to $0.6155, and Harmony rose 90.9% to $0.0012659.
CLARITY Act Gets a Second Life
Senator Thom Tillis, who initially voted for Tuesday’s failed cloture motion before switching to the losing side, filed a motion to reconsider, a procedural move that keeps the bill alive. The original vote failed 49 to 50, well short of the 60 votes needed.
Seven Democratic senators, including Kirsten Gillibrand, Mark Warner, Ruben Gallego, and Angela Alsobrooks, said they remain committed to advancing the bill through bipartisan negotiation, with sources telling reporters the goal is passage by year-end.
JPMorgan analysts said the bill is “not completely dead” but that the window for passage this session is extremely narrow. CFTC Chairman Mike Selig said the agency is “ready” to introduce crypto market rules using its existing authority, while Bernstein expects the SEC and CFTC to move “aggressively and swiftly” on token classification, DeFi protections, and equity tokenization rules.
Arc Mainnet Goes Live
Circle launched its Layer 1 blockchain, Arc mainnet, with Aave V4, Morpho, and Uniswap available at launch alongside more than 100 applications. Genesis validators include BlackRock, DTCC, ICE, Mastercard, and Visa, joining in phases.
Circle completed a genesis mint of 10 billion ARC tokens, which it said does not represent a commitment to a public offering, and plans to explore a shift from proof-of-authority to proof-of-stake in 2027.
Gas fees are paid in USDC, with sub-one-second transaction finality. DeFi researcher Ignas questioned Arc’s positioning, arguing the enterprise-focused chain is misaligned with crypto-native culture and that its airdrop may be its only compelling narrative for retail users.
Bitcoin Market Structure
CryptoQuant’s Coinbase Premium Index fell to roughly -0.07%, a four-week low, indicating weakening U.S. demand following the CLARITY Act’s Senate setback. Glassnode reported Bitcoin fell approximately 4.6% over the week to around $76,000, breaking below its range floor since late August and the realized market mean of $76,700, with on-chain capital inflows stalling after 27 consecutive days and ETFs turning to net outflows.
K33 said Bitcoin on-chain activity has dropped to one of its lowest levels on record, with only 3.8 million BTC moved in the past 180 days, which the firm said suggests weakening seller pressure.
Institutional and Regulatory Moves
The U.S. House Financial Services Committee voted 28 to 21 to advance the American Reserve Modernization Act, which would establish legal status for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve with a minimum 20 year holding period.
The House Ways and Means Committee separately passed the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act by a 38 to 5 vote, setting a $10 tax exemption threshold for small crypto transactions. Kraken parent Payward said it plans to offer U.S. customers on-chain perpetual futures via Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 architecture, pending regulatory approval.
Related: Bitcoin Slips After Fed Delivers First 25-Bps Rate Hike Since 2023
Security and Legal
Flamingo Finance was exploited for approximately $345,900 after an attacker used an $18 million Morpho flash loan to inflate a vault share price and redeem liquidity. The Celsius bankruptcy estate sued BitMEX for $495 million, alleging fraud and manipulation tied to the March 2020 Bitcoin crash, filed just days before BitMEX’s planned September 23 closure.
Related: SEC’s Atkins Vows to Push Crypto Rules After CLARITY Act Senate Setback
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