TL;DR
- Hayes stated that regulation was never the catalyst for the rally and that the Fed’s rate hike is the real driver of the market.
- Bitcoin surpassed $84,000, posting a weekly gain of more than 8% following the failure of the CLARITY Act in the Senate and the Fed’s rate hike.
- Daily trading volume reached $85.6 billion according to CoinGecko, compared to $72.4 billion the previous day.
Bitcoin staged a strong surge on Monday morning by surpassing $84,000, jumping approximately 5% in the session and more than 8% over the week.
The immediate context is built around two major events: the blocking of the CLARITY Act in the U.S. Senate and the first rate hike by the Federal Reserve since July 2023. Arthur Hayes, co-founder and CEO of Flop Labs, interpreted that sequence as a confirmation of his theory: regulation was never the true catalyst for the crypto market.
🚨 BREAKING 🇺🇸
THE U.S. SENATE IS SET TO HOLD THE KEY VOTE ON THE $CLARITY ACT TOMORROW AT 2:15 PM ET.
đź‘€ ACCORDING TO THE LATEST REPORTS, DEMOCRATS HAVE APPARENTLY AGREED TO SUPPORT AN UPDATED VERSION OF THE BILL.
IF IT PASSES → THE CRYPTO MARKET COULD SEE A STRONG BULLISH… pic.twitter.com/vfmDpHs94k
— Bitcoin Intelligence (@BitcoinIntelX) September 21, 2026
Hayes vs. the Regulatory Narrative
In a post on X, Hayes called the bill’s failure “nonsense” and argued that cryptocurrencies never needed that legislation to move forward. His position is that a rate hike puts more dollars in the hands of high-net-worth investors, who channel that liquidity into financial assets, including Bitcoin.
The Senate rejected the cloture motion on the CLARITY Act by 49 votes to 50, well short of the 60 needed to advance. Less than 24 hours later, the Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously, 12 to 0, to raise the target range for the federal funds rate by a quarter point, bringing it to the range of 3.75%–4%. The Federal Reserve justified the move by noting that inflation remains elevated and that the adjustment aims for a faster return to the 2% target.
Two Readings of the Same Move
Hayes’s argument is not the only one that has entered the market debate. Zach Pandl, from Grayscale, compared this rate hike to the Fed’s one-off adjustment in March 1997, which did not interrupt the Nasdaq bull market. Pandl believes that the projected increases through 2026 will not significantly alter capital allocation, though he noted that stablecoin issuers could benefit from higher rates and see greater flows into tokenized assets.
Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, expressed disappointment at the Senate outcome, highlighting the political investment that had backed the bill. Despite Bitcoin’s recovery, retail sentiment on Stocktwits remained bearish, illustrating that market advances and investor conviction do not always go hand in hand.
With expanding volume and key resistance levels between $87,200 and $87,800, the market is watching whether Bitcoin can sustain the rally toward $90,000.
