Bitcoin and ethereum prices today, Wednesday, September 16, 2026: Crypto prices tank after CLARITY Act fails and ahead of Fed decision

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) opened at $75,586.51 on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, 3.3% lower than Tuesday's opening price. As of 7:12 a.m. ET this morning, the price of bitcoin moved higher to $75,885.53.

Ethereum (ETH-USD) opened at $2,397.64 on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, down 4.6% from Tuesday's opening price. The price of ethereum moved up this morning to $2,404.43 as of 7:12 a.m. ET.

Both bitcoin and ethereum prices are down significantly this morning compared to the same time yesterday, following the failure of the CLARITY Act in the U.S. Senate and ahead of the expectation that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates later today.

If the Fed does raise rates, it will be the first time in three years.

Brian Sozzi, Executive Editor at Yahoo Finance, wrote more about the CLARITY Act's failure this morning:

The Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act failed its procedural Senate vote on Tuesday, falling short of the required 60 votes.

"Govt feels broken. 18 months of work between our industry, Democrats, and Republicans, and Clarity falls apart on the 5-yard line," Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz — worth an estimated $5.8 billion — said in a new X post.

Added Novogratz, "All the issues got to a hard-fought compromise except one. On Ethics, both sides dug in and decided their stance was more important than the long-run good of a major industry and our country's chance to lead it. Republicans were afraid of putting real limits on a President's ability to profit from digital assets. Dems decided that this one industry is where they would fight a corruption battle. They were scared to be seen doing anything that could be perceived as being soft on the President."

Senate Democrats blocked the advancement of CLARITY over lingering concerns regarding government ethics provisions and presidential conflicts of interest. President Trump and his family have long been a key player in crypto with their various investments.