Bitcoin moved lower on Tuesday as investors prepared for a crucial US Senate vote on the CLARITY Act and an upcoming Federal Reserve interest rate decision.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency fell 2.4% to around $76,266 by 09:48 ET.
Bitcoin had recovered some ground during the previous session after reports that US President Donald Trump had agreed to support a new ethics provision in the CLARITY Act.
Crypto Market Faces Growing Risk Aversion
The broader cryptocurrency market also traded mostly lower on Tuesday.
Investor sentiment weakened as benchmark US Treasury yields climbed toward multi-decade highs. At the same time, oil prices continued to rise amid worsening tensions in the Middle East.
Higher bond yields and stronger energy prices have increased concerns about inflation and tighter monetary policy.
These conditions have reduced demand for riskier assets, including Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Fed Meeting Limits Bitcoin Upside
Investors are also focused on the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting.
Markets widely expect the Fed to raise interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday.
Expectations of tighter monetary policy have limited Bitcoin’s ability to recover, as higher interest rates typically reduce the appeal of speculative assets.
The Fed’s policy statement and guidance could therefore become an important catalyst for Bitcoin and the wider crypto market.
Senate Prepares to Vote on CLARITY Act
The US Senate is expected to vote on the CLARITY Act on Tuesday.
The legislation needs at least 60 votes to advance.
Republican senators, including Cynthia Lummis, have been working to secure support from Democratic lawmakers.
Lummis said on Monday that Trump had agreed to a new ethics provision designed to prevent insider trading involving federal officials.
The measure had been requested by Senate Democrats.
Stablecoins and Crypto Regulation Remain Key Issues
Several disagreements over the CLARITY Act remain unresolved.
One major issue involves how the legislation treats yield payments on stablecoins.
Lawmakers are also debating how regulatory authority over digital assets should be divided between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Despite those disagreements, the CLARITY Act represents one of the most comprehensive attempts so far to create a federal regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in the United States.
The bill has received strong support from parts of the crypto industry.
However, it still needs enough Democratic votes in the Senate before it can move closer to becoming law.
Standard Chartered Sees Major Upside for Arbitrum
Elsewhere in the crypto market, Standard Chartered initiated coverage of Arbitrum’s ARB token with a $10 price target for the end of 2030.
That target would represent an increase of roughly 70 times from current levels.
The bank cited growing adoption of Arbitrum’s blockchain infrastructure by traditional financial institutions.
Standard Chartered also outlined interim ARB targets of $0.50 by the end of 2026, $1.50 in 2027, $3.50 in 2028 and $6.50 in 2029.
ARB Expected to Outperform Bitcoin and Ether
Standard Chartered expects ARB to outperform both Bitcoin and Ether over its forecast period.
The bank projects Ether reaching $4,000 by the end of 2026 and $40,000 by 2030.
Bitcoin, meanwhile, is forecast to reach $100,000 by 2026 and $500,000 by 2030.
Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research, highlighted Arbitrum’s role in helping traditional financial companies bring assets onto blockchain networks.
Robinhood Chain Boosts Arbitrum Revenue
Arbitrum’s Expansion Program allows the network to collect a rolling fee equal to 10% of net protocol revenue from external chains built using its technology.
Following the launch of Robinhood Chain on July 1, Standard Chartered estimates that Arbitrum could collect around $5 million in program fees during September at the current pace.
Robinhood Chain generated average daily fee revenue of roughly $2.8 million during the first two weeks of the month.
That activity has helped push Arbitrum’s total monthly revenue to more than five times its pre-launch level.
Standard Chartered believes the early success of Robinhood Chain could encourage more traditional financial companies to build blockchain networks using Arbitrum technology.
Tokenized Assets Could Support ARB Growth
The bank’s long-term ARB outlook also depends heavily on the expansion of tokenized assets.
Standard Chartered expects the tokenized asset market to reach $4 trillion by the end of 2028, compared with roughly $340 billion currently.
Tokenized equities alone could rise to around $750 billion over the same period.
Continued growth in tokenization could increase demand for blockchain infrastructure and potentially benefit networks such as Arbitrum.
Ether, Solana and Cardano Trade Lower
Broader cryptocurrency prices remained mostly flat to lower as investors waited for stronger market catalysts.
Ether fell around 2.2% to $2,446.97, while XRP gained nearly 1%.
Solana declined about 1.2%, while Cardano dropped roughly 2%.
BNB traded slightly lower.
Among memecoins, Dogecoin and the TRUMP token both fell, losing around 1.4% and 2%, respectively.
With the CLARITY Act vote and Federal Reserve decision approaching, volatility across Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market could remain elevated.
