Bitcoin Steadies Near $84K as ETF Outflows and Senate Bill Failure Rattle Markets

Bitcoin traded near $83,500 Monday morning after briefly surpassing $84,000 overnight, with bulls and bears locked in a tug-of-war ahead of key U.S. inflation data. Last week, U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs registered an outflow of $681 million, the highest since June, according to data source SoSoValue. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust recorded $207.7 million in withdrawals in a single session, while Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund lost $105.1 million.

Bitcoin ETFs ended three consecutive weeks of inflows as redemptions accelerated, even as XRP funds attracted fresh capital ahead of another Solana ETF listing. Upcoming U.S. inflation data, set to be released October 14, is anticipated to be a pivotal catalyst that could influence Bitcoin's trajectory in the near term.

Senate Bill Collapse Hands Reins to SEC and CFTC

The failure of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act in the U.S. Senate has shifted the focus of cryptocurrency regulation to the SEC and CFTC. This transition may facilitate increased trading and investment on-chain, yet a significant concern remains: the degree of regulatory certainty achievable without Congressional legislation. The former CFTC acting chair Caroline Pham argued that existing U.S. commodity laws already give the agency extensive authority over crypto markets, following the CFTC's October 5 proposal for a federal framework covering leveraged retail crypto trading.

The agency is considering how it should apply the existing statutory framework to leveraged crypto transactions, and is requesting feedback on safeguards against abusive practices, requirements tailored to crypto markets, and the possible creation of a crypto asset market subcategory within designated contract market registration. SEC Chair Paul Atkins launched Project Crypto, a commission-wide effort to modernize securities rules for on-chain markets, which produced the agency's most concrete crypto rulemaking in years, including a first-ever digital asset custody framework proposed October 1.

The global crypto market cap stood at $2.9 trillion as of early October 12, up 0.2% over 24 hours, with total trading volume reaching $52.4 billion. Bitcoin's dominance remained strong at 58%, while Ethereum held 10.7%. Traders are watching the $83,200 support floor closely, with sentiment on the Fear and Greed Index sitting at 69, firmly in greed territory.