{
  "id": 7736916,
  "title": "Bitcoin under renewed pressure as looming Fed hike adds to woes",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/bitcoin-under-renewed-pressure-as-looming-fed-hike-adds-to-woes-7736916",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-16T07:50:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Straits Times Business",
    "slug": "straits-times-business",
    "url": "https://www.straitstimes.com/business/bitcoin-under-renewed-pressure-as-looming-fed-hike-adds-to-woes"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Cryptocurrencies are experiencing renewed pressure as the US Senate failed to advance a key regulatory bill, Clarity Act, just before a potential Federal Reserve interest-rate hike. Bitcoin, which dropped 4% in US trading, stabilized around $75,900 by 8am London time. The broader market also weakened after steep declines in the US. Investors were hoping the Clarity Act, considered unlikely to pass in the Senate due to political wrangling, would help the market break out of an 11-month slump. Inflation fears and rising US bond yields are expected to push Fed Chair Kevin Warsh to raise rates on September 16, potentially dampening demand for risk assets like Bitcoin. The failure of the Clarity bill adds more hurdles for Bitcoin's upward movement, according to Pratik Kala, a portfolio manager at digital-asset hedge fund Apollo Crypto. He notes that until there is more global rate certainty, risk assets will remain under pressure. Institutional demand has also weakened, with US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds seeing over $450 million in net outflows on September 15, the largest single-day withdrawal since June. However, positioning in Bitcoin shows some resilience, with more bets on it rising than falling, according to Deribit data. Roughly $1.7 billion in calls were held at the $80,000 level across all maturities. Industry executives expressed frustration over the failed Senate vote, calling for a post-mortem to understand the reasons for the failure. Some suggested the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission could provide a clear regulatory framework in the absence of legislation. However, these agency rules may be easier for a future administration to change. Samson Leo, chief legal officer at Singapore-based stablecoin issuer StraitsX, points out that the longer markets operate without clear frameworks, the harder it becomes to address fragmentation. The immediate focus now is on the Fed, with markets pricing a greater than 90% chance of a 25 basis-point hike, according to swaps data. Caroline Mauron, co-founder of Orbit Markets, says market turmoil is expected across all asset classes if Warsh fails to hike rates. She notes that inflation concerns could revive the debasement trade, which is positive for Bitcoin, but bond yields mayhem and general market volatility could take it down first before it goes up.",
  "summary": "Bitcoin, which fell 4 per cent in US trading, stabilised at around US$75,900 as at 8am in London.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Business Recorder",
        "title": "Indian rupee faces more pressure with likely Fed rate hike compounding oil pain",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/indian-rupee-faces-more-pressure-with-likely-fed-rate-hike",
        "published": "2026-09-16T03:15:42.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Hindu BusinessLine",
        "title": "Rupee expected to stay under pressure with likely Fed rate hike adding to strain from high oil prices",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/rupee-expected-to-stay-under-pressure-with-likely-fed-rate-hike",
        "published": "2026-09-16T03:51:49.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Moneyweb",
        "title": "Bitcoin under renewed pressure as looming Fed hike adds to woes",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/bitcoin-under-renewed-pressure-as-looming-fed-hike-adds-to-woes",
        "published": "2026-09-16T06:00:54.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}