CLARITY vote draws more Bitcoin discussion than Fed rate hike

The failed vote on the CLARITY Act on 15 September attracted more attention on social media than the US central bank’s first rate hike in more than three years. That is according to data from analytics firm Santiment. While the Fed raised rates by 25 basis points on 16 September, it was the political news from Washington that preoccupied Bitcoin investors the most, although sentiment around the rate hike was more positive.

Bitcoin is available at OKX and Bybit.

In brief

• The failed CLARITY Act vote generated a higher social volume around Bitcoin than the Fed rate hike.
• Sentiment was more positive around the rate hike, while the Bitcoin price fell slightly after the CLARITY vote.
• The Fed raised rates by 25 basis points to 3.75% to 4.00%, the first increase since July 2023.

CLARITY vote draws most attention

When the CLARITY Act vote failed on 15 September with 49 votes in favour and 50 against, social volume around Bitcoin shot up to 890 mentions in the evening window from 18:00 to 24:00 UTC. That was the highest evening level in two weeks. The following evening, when the Fed raised rates, social volume stood at 691.

Santiment uses a baseline of 525 mentions per evening window, measured across the eleven evenings without major news events. The CLARITY vote peaked at 1.7 times that baseline, the rate hike at 1.3 times. Washington therefore generated more discussion than the Fed.

Sentiment tells a different story

Strikingly, sentiment shows the reverse order. During the evening window of the CLARITY vote, the sentiment score stood at +26.9, while the Bitcoin price fell by around 1.7% in the same period. Around the Fed rate hike, sentiment was much more positive, with a score of +51.7, and Bitcoin rose slightly by around 0.7%.

The contrast is clear: political news generated more discussion, but the Fed’s monetary policy prompted more positive reactions. At the time of writing, Bitcoin stands at $76.700, a rise of 1.3% in the past 24 hours. Earlier, Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs saw a combined outflow of $520 million on 16 September, the day of the rate hike.

First rate hike in more than three years

The Fed raised its policy rate by 25 basis points on 16 September to a range of 3.75% to 4.00%. It was the first increase since July 2023, which gives the move extra weight for financial markets worldwide.

The fact that the political debate around the CLARITY Act nevertheless sparked more Bitcoin conversations than this monetary decision indicates how strongly regulatory uncertainty resonates in the crypto community. The vote ultimately narrowly failed, which caused additional unease among investors who had hoped for more clarity on the legal framework for digital assets in the United States.