Bitcoin muted around $66k amid concerns over US crypto bill and Iran tensions
Bitcoin edged lower by 0.6% to $66,004.0 as of 17:37 ET (21:37 GMT), remaining near a five‑week high despite recent losses. The modest decline followed a sharp recovery driven by a resurgence of capital inflows into spot exchange‑traded funds, which lifted broader cryptocurrency markets.
The market focus shifted to the United States Senate, where lawmakers are debating the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. Senate Democrats have raised objections to a provision that would bar the president, vice‑president, and members of Congress from holding significant crypto interests, arguing that state attorneys general should enforce the ethics rules. The White House and Republican sponsors prefer enforcement authority to rest with the U.S. attorney general. This disagreement is the primary obstacle to advancing the bill, which also contains unsettled illicit‑finance provisions affecting developers. Lawmakers aim to complete the legislation before the Senate’s August 7 summer recess.
Concurrently, heightened U.S.–Iran tensions have kept risk appetite subdued. The two nations have exchanged tit‑for‑tat strikes for an eleventh consecutive day, with Washington threatening to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities and Tehran warning of further escalation. The conflict has driven oil prices higher, especially as Yemen’s Iran‑backed Houthi group imposed a naval blockade in the Red Sea, disrupting shipping. Elevated oil prices have revived concerns about sticky, energy‑driven inflation, potentially prompting the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates later in the year, a scenario unfavorable for speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies.
Altcoin performance was mixed. Ether rose 0.5% to $1,933.44, while Cardano gained 1.3%. XRP fell 0.4% to $1.1418, BNB slipped 0.3%, Solana declined 0.1%, and Dogecoin dropped 0.7%. The meme‑coin $TRUMP advanced 1%.
The article, authored by Ambar Warrick and contributed to by Vahid Karaahmetovic and Anuron Mitra, was published on 22‑07‑2026 at 12:30 pm and updated on 23‑07‑2026 at 03:14 am. It is sourced from Reuters.