Bitcoin Stumbles as US Government Shutdown Looms

The U.S. Federal government will shut down at midnight if Republicans and Democrats are unable to agree on a budget.

BTC Dips Under Shadow of U.S. Government Impasse

Ah, the timeless tale of American politics-where compromise is an art form that no one seems to have mastered. U.S. Republicans and Democrats were at it again on Tuesday, wrangling over the nation’s fiscal future, as if it were a game of chess played by drunken toddlers. The clock ticks toward midnight, and no resolution is in sight. The stock markets, ever the harbinger of doom, took a plunge, and bitcoin followed suit, dipping under $114K after an oh-so-brief post-weekend rally on Monday. It’s the kind of thing that makes you wonder if we ever really understood the concept of “stability.”

With Republicans having a majority in both chambers of Congress, they still managed to botch it, passing a temporary funding bill in the House, only for it to be rejected in the Senate by a staggering 60 votes. Meanwhile, Democrats, ever the optimists, proposed their own bill, filled to the brim with demands like a child at a candy store-health insurance tax credits and a reversal of cuts to Medicaid. But surprise, surprise, that bill also didn’t pass in the Senate. So here we are, in yet another impasse, with the threat of a government shutdown hanging over us like a cloud on a bad day.

Now, both parties are pointing fingers, accusing each other of being the reason the government may grind to a halt. If they don’t resolve this by midnight, it’ll be the fifteenth government shutdown since 1980. Ah, who doesn’t love a little bit of economic chaos? If it happens, millions of federal workers will go unpaid, and many vital government services will be affected. The last shutdown, back in 2018 during Trump’s first term, lasted 35 days and saw a shocking $3 billion in lost economic activity. Unsurprisingly, bitcoin and stocks turned a rather bearish shade on Tuesday.

“Senate Democrats have a binary choice to make,” said U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, as if anyone truly believes in binary choices anymore. “They can vote for the clean continuing resolution to keep the government open, just as they did 13 times when Biden was in office, or they can shut down the government.” A riveting ultimatum if there ever was one.

Overview of Market Metrics

As of writing, Bitcoin was priced at $113,922.15, a slight 0.13% dip from yesterday. But don’t fret, it’s up 1.83% from last week-silver linings, people. The cryptocurrency has been oscillating between $112,740.56 and $114,836.62 in the past 24 hours. At this point, I’m not sure if we’re witnessing a roller coaster or just a toddler’s tantrum.

Trading volume for the day was slightly down by 4.1%, sitting at $57.86 billion. Market capitalization, predictably, hardly moved, dipping 0.29% to $2.26 trillion-how terribly unexciting. Meanwhile, Bitcoin dominance rose a modest 0.51% to 59.14%. Small victories, eh?

As for bitcoin futures, open interest fell by 3.19% to $80.25 billion, according to data from Coinglass. Meanwhile, bitcoin liquidations reached a sobering $47.65 million in the last 24 hours, with $29.43 million in shorts and $18.22 million in long liquidations. It’s the kind of market you’d expect at a carnival where no one’s having fun anymore.

2025-09-30 23:19

BTC Dips Under Shadow of U.S. Government Impasse

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