Bitcoin steadied around USD 119,000 on Wednesday, partially recovering from a sharp pullback after reaching record highs earlier in the week.
The cryptocurrency’s retreat followed a procedural setback in the U.S. House of Representatives, where lawmakers unexpectedly blocked debate on a trio of bills intended to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets.
That development, coupled with stronger-than-expected U.S. consumer inflation data and renewed trade tariff rhetoric from President Trump, triggered profit-taking and a shift towards caution across digital-asset markets.
Sentiment improved late Tuesday after Trump announced he had secured support from a key bloc of Republican lawmakers, potentially paving the way for a vote on the GENIUS Act, legislation focused on stablecoin regulation, as well as two related bills addressing digital asset oversight and a prohibition on a central bank digital currency. Their passage would mark the most significant regulatory advance for the sector in the U.S. to date, with implications for institutional adoption and legal certainty. Flows into listed products reflected this shift, with Bitcoin ETFs recording large inflows.
Looking ahead, a durable rally may depend on the Federal Reserve’s response to sticky inflation, but if legal clarity is achieved, it could lay the groundwork for a broader institutional re-engagement in crypto assets.
