Bitcoin price has shed all of its gains from Thursday, experiencing a decline as institutional demand for the token weakened amidst growing unease over a contentious U.S. cryptocurrency market structure bill. This pullback occurred despite positive technical indicators suggesting underlying strength in the asset.
Market Sentiment and ETF Flows
According to data from SoSoValue, inflows into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a sharp reduction on Thursday, January 15, 2026, totaling only $100.1 million. This figure represents a significant decrease compared to the $843.6 million in inflows recorded just one day prior. BlackRock’s IBIT was a primary recipient of inflows, attracting $315.7 million. Grayscale’s BTC and Valkyrie’s BRRR also saw combined inflows of $9.7 million. However, Fidelity’s FBTC and Grayscale’s GBTC experienced substantial outflows, amounting to $188.8 million and $36.4 million, respectively, which offset a considerable portion of the new investments.
The decline in institutional investor interest followed reports of serious concerns raised by several executives, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, regarding a Senate version of a highly anticipated crypto market structure bill. Armstrong had previously expressed significant apprehension about the bill's restrictive language.
In response to these concerns and the lack of sufficient support, the Senate Banking Committee canceled its planned markup session for the bill, stating a need for more time to garner the necessary backing. This development mirrors a similar postponement by the Senate Agriculture Committee earlier in January for its own markup session, citing comparable regulatory friction.
Concerns surrounding key cryptocurrency regulations often lead to sharp price declines and a dip in investor sentiment. Following the legislative delays, the crypto Fear and Greed Index fell by 12 points to 49, indicating a return to neutral market sentiment. This occurred just one day after the index had entered the "greed" territory for the first time in months.
The Bitcoin rally, which had propelled the flagship cryptocurrency to a two-month high earlier in the week, has consequently stalled as investors assess the impact of the legislative stalemate. Bitcoin (BTC) had risen 5% to an intraday high of $97,870 on Thursday, but has since relinquished some of those gains. At press time, it was trading at $95,684.
Bitcoin Price Analysis
Despite the recent price drop, Bitcoin's charts continue to present an optimistic outlook for the asset. Notably, BTC price has confirmed a bullish pattern on its daily chart, suggesting that the token may not have lost its upward momentum.
On the daily chart, Bitcoin price has confirmed a breakout from an ascending triangle pattern. This is a classic bullish continuation structure, which typically leads to significant further upside for an asset when it breaks through the upper trendline.
Momentum indicators such as the MACD and RSI are showing a bullish setup at press time. The Relative Strength Index remains in positive territory, while the MACD signals that buyers are still largely in control, despite the recent volatility. Therefore, Bitcoin is expected to maintain its bullish structure, particularly if bulls can continue to defend the psychological support level at $95,000.