Bitcoin slipped below the $96,000 level during U.S. trading hours as a recent crypto rally lost momentum, following setbacks in U.S. digital asset regulation. The pullback came after the Senate Banking Committee canceled a planned markup of a crypto market structure bill, a move that followed Coinbase’s withdrawal of support for the legislation.
The decline marked a reversal from Bitcoin’s midweek peak near $98,000, ending a multi-day rally that had been fueled by geopolitical tensions and strong inflows into U.S.-listed Bitcoin ETFs, which attracted more than $1.7 billion earlier in the week. Crypto-related equities also fell in tandem, with shares of Coinbase, Circle, and Strategy posting losses of 3%–5%.
Despite weakness in digital assets, U.S. equity markets continued to rise, highlighting a divergence between traditional markets and crypto. Overall, the move underscores how regulatory uncertainty remains a key short-term driver of volatility in the cryptocurrency market, even amid strong institutional interest.