NEW YORK, Jan 16, 2026, 5:12 PM EST — After-hours
- Bitcoin slipped roughly 0.3% to around $95,400, having fallen earlier to about $94,300.
- The Senate Banking Committee delayed its markup session on legislation targeting digital-asset market structure.
- ETF flow data showed strength this week, though traders remain cautious about its durability.
Bitcoin dipped 0.3% to $95,417 on Friday, swinging between a low of $94,328 and a high of $95,781. The decline followed a delay in progress on a much-anticipated crypto market-structure bill in the U.S. Senate. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott said “everyone remains at the table working in good faith.” (Senate Banking Committee)
The token surged midweek, fueled by fresh interest in U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs that raked in $843.6 million in one session and topped $1.7 billion across three days, according to flow data summarized by CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin hit a high of $97,957 on Wednesday before slipping lower. (CoinMarketCap)
This matters now because the market was relying on two supports simultaneously: the hope that Washington would clarify regulations and the surge of major ETF inflows. A “markup” refers to the committee phase when lawmakers debate and modify the bill’s text; hold-ups there often push timelines out quickly.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong withdrew support for the draft, saying, “We’d rather have no bill than a bad bill.” He pointed to what he described as a “defacto ban on tokenized equities” and clauses that would “kill rewards on stablecoins.” Shares of Coinbase, Circle, and Bullish dropped following the news, though some later trimmed their losses, Investopedia reported. (Investopedia)
Macro markets offered little support. The dollar climbed to a six-week peak Thursday after U.S. jobless claims dropped unexpectedly, prompting traders to push back bets on the Fed’s first rate cut to June, according to a Reuters report. Bitcoin slipped 2.18% during that stretch. (Reuters)
Bitcoin trades nonstop, yet it often tracks shifts in risk appetite, especially amid rapid moves in the dollar and U.S. rate expectations. Friday’s tight range masked a week that was actually quite volatile.
The immediate risk is straightforward: if Washington’s timeline keeps slipping and ETF inflows slow, the rally’s support could evaporate quickly. A stronger dollar or rising yields would only tighten the screws further, and crypto hasn’t needed much of a push recently to drop sharply.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman has nailed down dates for the next crypto market-structure push. He announced that legislative text must be ready by close of business on Jan. 21, with a committee markup scheduled for Jan. 27 at 3 p.m. Boozman said this timeline “ensures transparency and allows for thorough review.” (Senate)
