Bitcoin climbed back above $80,000 on Friday, September 18, recovering after Tuesday's selloff and lifting shares of crypto-related companies. The rebound came despite the Senate's failure to advance the Clarity Act and the Federal Reserve's first interest-rate increase in three years. In Metal Pay's Friday snapshot, Bitcoin traded at $80,815, up 5.6% over 24 hours and 4.1% over seven days. Alternative.me's Fear & Greed Index rose to 56, or Greed, from Thursday's Neutral reading of 50. The six-point improvement marked a shift back toward optimism, although the index measures sentiment rather than predicting future returns.
Clarity Act Stalls in the Senate
The Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act in a procedural vote on September 15, leaving the proposed U.S. digital-asset framework stalled. The measure did not reach the 60 votes needed to proceed, with disagreements over ethics safeguards and risks to bank deposits still dividing lawmakers. Supporters argued that clearer rules would help crypto businesses operate in the United States, while opponents wanted stronger protections. The setback increased attention on the SEC and CFTC, which can still act within their existing authority. Those agency-led measures are easier to change than federal law, leaving longer-term regulatory certainty unresolved.
SEC Opens Path for Tokenized Stock Trading
On September 17, the SEC issued a five-year conditional exemption allowing qualifying blockchain-based venues to trade certain tokenized U.S. stocks without registering as national securities exchanges. The framework permits automated trading through smart contracts and shared liquidity pools, rather than requiring a traditional exchange setup. Eligible tokens must represent real share ownership and preserve rights such as dividends and voting, excluding synthetic products that only track prices. Issuers can object when third parties seek to tokenize their securities. The move creates a regulated testing ground for on-chain stock markets, but it is temporary and does not remove all investor-protection requirements.
Bitcoin ETFs opened Monday with $159.9 million in net inflows, led by BlackRock's IBIT at $134.3 million and Fidelity's FBTC at $53.3 million. Tuesday reversed sharply to $450.4 million in net outflows, with Fidelity losing $214.8 million and BlackRock $161.7 million. Wednesday brought another $295.9 million in net outflows, led by BlackRock at $144.1 million and ARK 21Shares at $84.4 million. Thursday recovered to $159.5 million in net inflows as BlackRock attracted $183.7 million, outweighing withdrawals from Fidelity and VanEck. Overall, Bitcoin ETFs recorded $426.9 million in net outflows across Monday through Thursday, with the two positive sessions unable to offset the withdrawals.
Ethereum ETFs started Monday with $121.1 million in net inflows, led by BlackRock's ETHA at $80.5 million, alongside $16.2 million into Grayscale's ETH and $14.4 million into BlackRock's ETHB. Tuesday flipped to $142.0 million in net outflows, with ETHA losing $98.0 million and Bitwise's ETHW $34.4 million. Wednesday was the weakest session, with $224.1 million in net outflows, led by ETHA at $110.0 million and Fidelity's FETH at $55.6 million. Thursday added $39.3 million in net outflows as ETHA's $42.9 million withdrawal outweighed $1.8 million inflows each into Fidelity's FETH and VanEck's ETHV. Overall, Ethereum ETFs recorded $284.3 million in net outflows across Monday through Thursday, with three consecutive negative sessions erasing Monday's gains.
Metal DAO (MTL) led the 13-token snapshot with a 14.6% seven-day gain, followed by Solana at 9.9%, Stellar at 6.2%, Litecoin at 5.3% and Cardano at 4.9%. Bitcoin and Hedera each advanced 4.1%, while Ethereum gained 1.4%. Eleven of the 13 tracked tokens were higher over seven days; Metal Blockchain slipped 0.8% and XPR Network fell 8.6%.
