Bitcoin recovered above $80,000 despite stalled crypto legislation and a Federal Reserve rate increase, prompting Bitmex co-founder Arthur Hayes to argue that monetary flows matter more than Washington policy in the short term. Bitcoin rose from about $76,400 to $80,935 and later traded at $81,253, while roughly $192 million in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated in one hour, including more than $183 million in short positions. Hayes, who is chief investment officer at Maelstrom and chief executive of Flop Labs, said the Federal Reserve’s 25-basis-point increase to a 3.75%-4% target range could put more income in the hands of wealthy asset owners, who may direct it toward stocks, bitcoin and other financial assets. The Federal Reserve also raised the rate paid on reserve balances to 3.90%. Hayes’ broader outlook calls for bitcoin to trade between $60,000 and $70,000, with possible downside to $50,000, before an artificial-intelligence credit collapse and a government response potentially drive it toward $1 million. The CLARITY Act remains relevant to digital-asset market structure despite its immediate failure in the Senate: lawmakers rejected cloture on H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, by 49-50 on Sept. 15, below the 60 votes required to advance it.