CLARITY Act vote meets Fed rate hike: Five things to know in Bitcoin this week

Bitcoin (BTC) is starting the third week of September below key weekly support levels as traders eye volatility cues.

• The US Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates by 0.25% on Wednesday amid stubborn inflation and a mounting oil-price squeeze.
• The Senate will vote on whether to advance the crypto CLARITY Act on Tuesday — a key moment for market sentiment.
• Bitcoin finished last week below its 50-week moving average near $77,400, although a bullish RSI divergence continues to play out.

Fed’s Warsh seen hiking rates despite Trump pressure

The Federal Reserve takes the spotlight for risk-asset traders this week as Wednesday’s decision on interest rates dictates the mood.

On the back of high inflation and cautious words from chair Kevin Warsh, the Fed is widely expected to hike benchmark rates by 25 basis points to 3.75-4% despite several dissenting officials in favor of holding them at current levels. The setup echoes that of the Fed’s July rate decision, when Warsh held rates while several voices argued for a hike.  Now, Warsh faces pressure from US president Donald Trump not only to avoid a hike but to enact rate cuts.

The latest data from the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool puts the odds of rates staying at their current levels at just 13.3% at the time of writing. A week ago, the implied probability of a rate pause was above 40%, but it pulled back in the face of recent inflation data and oil-price gains from escalation in the Middle East.