Bitcoin held firmly above $64,000 despite intraday swings between $63,900 and $64,706. The modest price gains triggered heavy losses for short sellers, driving $148 million in short liquidations out of $216 million across the total crypto market.
Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin anchored above $64,000 on Wednesday, capping a 1.1% gain despite volatile intra-day trading.
- Coinglass data showed market liquidations reached $216 million, with short bets taking a $148 million hit.
- Polymarket lowered the CLARITY Acts 2026 passage odds to 15% as Senate delays push talks to September.
Intra-Day Price Volatility and Resistance
On Wednesday, bitcoin stubbornly anchored itself above the $64,000 baseline, though broader bullish momentum remained muted as political friction intensified around the impending CLARITY Act vote. Despite a sharp spike in 24-hour volatility, market data indicate the top cryptocurrency still managed to carve out a slight upward trajectory compared to its Aug. 4 consolidation range of $63,000 to $63,600.
Market data show that although it dipped below $64,000 several times during the session, it quickly reclaimed the mark, signaling strong buying pressure. Still, a familiar ceiling emerged: Each rally stalled once bitcoin breached $64,400.
That pattern held until 8:30 a.m. EST, when the price fell from $64,466 to a daily low of $63,900 in just over an hour. A sharp rebound erased the drop and pushed bitcoin to a peak of $64,706. As of 12:53 p.m. EST, bitcoin traded just under $64,600—a 1.1% daily gain that nudged its market capitalization close to $1.3 trillion.
For the second straight day, even modest gains proved brutal for short sellers. Coinglass data show that of the nearly $52 million in leveraged bitcoin positions, short liquidations accounted for $45 million. Across the broader crypto market, liquidations hit roughly $216 million, with short positions making up $148 million of the total.
Analysts view the CLARITY Act as a key catalyst for bitcoin this year, but with less than 48 hours before Congress enters recess, passage by a divided U.S. Senate appears increasingly unlikely. Reports late Tuesday indicated Senate Majority Leader John Thune planned to file cloture, though later reports noted Senate Democrats intend to block the move. Ultimately, the Senates Aug. 5 schedule omitted the CLARITY Act entirely, highlighting a lack of bipartisan consensus.
CLARITY Act odds: Polymarket
Nevertheless, staunch advocates refuse to declare the push dead. Coinbase Vice Chairman Ryan VanGrack underscored that a failure in the current legislative session does not kill the bill, pointing to September as a viable secondary runway for passage. Echoing that resilience, Sen. Cynthia Lummis, one of the measures chief legislative architects, maintained a bullish outlook on its ultimate trajectory—though she conceded that high-stakes negotiations will likely drag through the weekend.
Prediction markets are far less hopeful. Polymarket users now give the CLARITY Act just a 15% chance of becoming law this year, down 12 percentage points from 27% on Monday.