Bitcoin experienced significant volatility on Monday, rising to almost $80,000 before being pushed back below $77,000 ahead of a crucial Senate vote on the CLARITY Act.
The cryptocurrency's price action has been marked by sharp swings over recent days. Following last week's US Consumer Price Index release, which came in as expected, bitcoin initially fell from $77,000 to $76,000 before jumping to $79,800. The weekend saw sideways trading around $77,000, with two dips to $76,500 on Monday before bulls gained control during early US trading hours, pushing the price above $79,500. However, selling pressure returned and bitcoin retreated to around $77,000.
Bitcoin's market capitalization stands at $1.540 trillion, with its dominance over altcoins at 58.85%.
Altcoins Mixed as Market Awaits Policy Clarity
Most altcoins attempted to follow bitcoin higher but faced rejection at local peaks. Ethereum fell below $2,500, down 1.5% daily after reaching an eight-month peak of $2,670 on Friday. XRP tested $1.46 before retreating to contest the $1.40 level.
Among the larger-cap tokens, RAIN posted the steepest decline at over 11%. However, some coins managed gains, with XLM and UNI up around 4-5% to $0.19 and $6.55 respectively. Minor gainers included ZEC, XMR, and LINK.
The total cryptocurrency market capitalization held steady at $2.650 trillion.
Volatility is expected to continue following today's CLARITY Act vote and tomorrow's Federal Reserve interest rate announcement.
