Bitcoin Slides Below $80K as Senate Votes on Landmark Crypto Bill
Bitcoin pulled back sharply on Thursday, slipping below the closely watched $80,000 level as a hotter-than-expected inflation reading rattled risk markets. The April Producer Price Index rose 1.4% month-over-month, nearly triple economists' forecasts of 0.5%, complicating the Federal Reserve's path toward rate cuts. The move added pressure across digital assets and crypto-linked equities, with Coinbase, Robinhood, Bullish, and Gemini all finishing Wednesday's session in the red.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs bore the brunt of the selloff. According to Blockchain Reporter, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $635 million in net outflows on May 13, led by BlackRock's IBIT with $285 million, marking the single-largest outflow since late January. Bitcoin opened Thursday at $79,283, down 1.5% from Wednesday's open, and tested support near $78,800 after the $80,000 floor that had held through all of April finally gave way. Analysts warn that a sustained break lower could expose $75,000 as the next key support zone.
Senate Banking Committee Advances CLARITY Act Amid Union Opposition
The most consequential event of the day unfolded on Capitol Hill, where the U.S. Senate Banking Committee held a markup vote on the full 309-page Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act. The bill, if it ultimately clears Congress, would convert Bitcoin's commodity classification into federal statute and establish a definitive regulatory framework for the broader digital asset market. Citi analysts have tied a $143,000 base-case BTC target for 2026 directly to the bill's passage, projecting an additional $15 billion in net ETF inflows once it clears Congress.
The vote did not come without friction. Major labor organizations including the AFL-CIO, Service Employees International Union, American Federation of Teachers, and the National Education Association sent a letter warning senators the bill could jeopardize retirement accounts for millions of workers. The banking industry separately opposed a provision that would allow crypto firms to offer yield-like payments on stablecoin holdings. Senator Cynthia Lummis has cautioned that failing to advance the bill before Memorial Day recess on May 21 could effectively push the legislation to 2030. Prediction market Polymarket currently puts the odds of the CLARITY Act passing in 2026 at around 62%.
Adding a separate corporate dimension to the day's news, Japanese Bitcoin holding company Metaplanet reported a ¥114.5 billion ($725 million) net loss for the first quarter of fiscal 2026, driven by accounting valuation losses on its Bitcoin treasury after BTC posted its worst Q1 performance since 2018. The firm now holds over 40,177 BTC. CEO Simon Gerovich also disclosed this week that Metaplanet is delaying its planned perpetual preferred share listing, citing regulatory and infrastructure challenges in Japan's market structure.