Bitcoin dropped below $78,000 Monday, trading near $77,947 after a two-day selloff that wiped more than $80 billion from the crypto market. Over $620 million in liquidations hit exchanges in 24 hours, with long positions taking the worst of it at $469 million. The selloff accelerated after President Donald Trump said no progress was made on softer tariff posture at the US-China summit, dragging equities and crypto lower.
The CLARITY Act bump that didn't stick
The Senate Banking Committee passed the CLARITY Act by a 15-9 vote earlier Monday, briefly pushing Bitcoin above $82,000. But the rally fizzled fast. Profit-taking kicked in almost immediately, and the bill's passage — while a win for the industry — couldn't hold off the broader macro headwinds. The vote itself was close, with nine senators opposing the measure.
Strait of Hormuz adds another layer
Iran formalized a fee system for vessels using the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for roughly one-fifth of seaborne oil. Iranian official Ebrahim Azizi said vessels from China, Japan, and Pakistan have transited the strait with Iran's clearance, and that European operators are seeking similar permission. Iran's crude exports have fallen more than 80% since mid-March, according to Vortexa data, and fuel rationing has caused long queues and a gasoline black market. Pakistan's interior minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Tehran for an unannounced meeting amid backchannel diplomacy on the Iran-US standoff.
Analyst Mario Nawfal contends that Iran charging fees on international waters is a sovereignty claim unlikely to be recognized by other governments. But the market isn't waiting for legal clarity — the risk of disruption to oil flows is already feeding into risk-off sentiment.
Bear trend or just a bad week?
Analyst Ivan on Tech argues that Bitcoin has been in a weekly bear trend since October, and that news flow doesn't move the underlying structure. If he's right, the CLARITY Act and the Strait drama are just noise on a longer downtrend. Prediction market Kalshi shows 60% odds on Bitcoin dropping below $75,000 before month-end — a level that would test the lows of this cycle.
The next concrete test for markets: whether backchannel talks between Pakistan and Iran de-escalate the Strait situation, and whether the CLARITY Act can clear the full Senate before summer recess. For now, traders are watching $75,000.
