Another Bitcoin liquidity test arrives with Tuesday’s US tax deadline

Tuesday’s US estimated-tax deadline will shift cash toward the Treasury, testing whether last week’s improvement in bank reserves can hold through the Federal Reserve’s meeting. Bitcoin liquidity could come under pressure if the transfer tightens dollar funding and limits risk-taking before policymakers conclude their September 15–16 meeting.

The IRS calendar sets September 15, 2026 as the third installment deadline for individuals and corporations subject to estimated-tax payments. It falls on the opening day of the Fed meeting, putting a scheduled cash movement alongside the policy decision due the following day.

Bank reserves are balances commercial banks hold at the Fed. They support payments and funding, rather than measuring traders’ available cash. The starting point is stronger than a week earlier. The Fed’s September 10 balance-sheet release showed weekly-average bank reserves rose $96.779 billion to about $2.991 trillion in the week ended September 9. Over the same period, the Treasury General Account, the government’s account at the Fed, fell $84.6 billion to $883.3 billion on a weekly-average basis.

Those are averages, not Wednesday’s snapshot. The separate September 9 levels were about $3.037 trillion for reserves and $843.705 billion for Treasury cash.