White House Demands Swift Crypto Deal as Senate Clock Ticks Down Amid $1B Market Liquidation Storm

The White House just turned up the heat—pushing for a rapid cryptocurrency regulatory deal as the Senate's window for action shrinks to a sliver. All while a billion-dollar liquidation wave crashes through digital asset markets.

Political Pressure Meets Market Mayhem

Administration officials are now openly pressing lawmakers to cut a deal, fast. The legislative calendar is crammed, and the path for any comprehensive framework is narrowing by the day. It's a classic Washington scramble—sudden urgency after years of deliberation.

Meanwhile, traders got a brutal reminder that crypto markets don't wait for politicians. A staggering $1,000,000,000 in leveraged positions got liquidated in a sharp downturn. Longs got hammered. It was a flush-out that rattled exchanges and portfolios alike—proof that volatility remains the only true bipartisan consensus in finance.

The High-Stakes Countdown

This creates a bizarre duality: regulators and legislators are frantically trying to build the plane while crypto markets are busy setting parts of it on fire. The push from the executive branch signals a recognition that further delay could mean ceding more ground to market chaos—or to other financial hubs sprinting ahead with clearer rules.

Some on Capitol Hill warn that a rushed deal might just paper over deep divisions, creating a regulatory patchwork that satisfies nobody. Others argue something is better than nothing, especially with midterms looming and voters holding battered crypto bags.

One cynical take from a fund manager? "Washington wants to regulate the volatility out of an asset class that's built on it. They might as well try to legislate away gravity—it'll be just as effective, and twice as expensive."

So here we stand: a political sprint collides with a market reckoning. The outcome will shape whether America leads the next financial era or gets left managing the fallout. Tick-tock.

White House Presses for Action on Crypto Rules

The proposed Senate bill WOULD define how the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) oversee crypto markets, including stablecoins and decentralized finance protocols. However, disagreements over key provisions have slowed progress.

Both the Senate Banking and Agriculture Committees recently postponed markups as lawmakers worked to resolve disputes and gather enough support to advance the bill. Witt has been blunt in his message to the industry: accept compromise now or risk facing a less favorable outcome later.

He criticized Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong for withdrawing support for the current version of the bill, after Armstrong said the company would “rather have no bill than a bad bill.”

Midterm Elections Add Pressure

The push for speed is also tied to the November U.S. midterm elections, which could reshape Congress. All House seats and 35 Senate seats are up for grabs, and polling and prediction markets suggest Democrats have a strong chance of flipping the House.

A divided Congress would likely slow or stall crypto legislation altogether. Witt has cautioned that the political alignment needed to pass a market structure bill may not be in place after the elections, making the coming months critical for any deal.

The policy debate comes as markets reel from a sharp deleveraging event. Today, more than 182,000 traders were liquidated in a single day, with total losses of over $1.08 billion. Most of the damage came from long positions in bitcoin and Ethereum, as falling prices triggered cascading margin calls across major exchanges.

Bitcoin alone saw over $427 million in long liquidations, while ethereum accounted for roughly $374 million. Technical indicators show many altcoins trading with RSI levels below 50, suggesting continued selling pressure.

Rising Japanese bond yields and renewed global risk-off sentiment have also tightened liquidity, prompting investors to shift away from volatile assets like crypto. Although Bitcoin later stabilized near $90,000, analysts say the recent rebound looks more like a pause after forced selling than a clear return to bullish momentum.

Cover image from ChatGPT, BTCUSD chart on Tradingview