Bitcoin Coils at $81K as CLARITY Act Senate Vote Looms — $90K in Play if It Passes!

Bitcoin is holding near $81,200 ahead of a Senate Banking Committee markup vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act scheduled for May 14 at 10:30 AM EST. Seven consecutive weeks of spot ETF inflows totaling $3.43 billion have built a structural floor under the recovery from February's $63,000 low, but the legislative outcome is the swing variable traders are struggling to price with confidence. Prediction markets currently put passage odds at 60%.

The bill, H.R. 3633, passed the House on July 17 by a 294–134 bipartisan vote and would grant the CFTC exclusive authority over spot markets for decentralized digital commodities. A May 11 compromise between Senators Tillis and Alsobrooks resolved key staking provisions, earning Coinbase's public support. Senate Banking Chairman Tim Scott says the committee is "in the red zone."

Institutional positioning is reinforcing the bid. UBS…