The total crypto market capitalization dropped 0.94% from Sunday’s high, settling at $2.21 trillion on Monday as regulatory and institutional headwinds converged.
Senate leaders confirmed the CLARITY Act will not receive a floor vote before the August recess, removing a major anticipated catalyst for the market.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he does not expect a final vote before the break, sending betting odds on passage tumbling to roughly 37% from above 80% in spring.
The bill was designed to clarify which federal regulator oversees which digital assets, meaning US crypto oversight remains dependent on executive orders for the foreseeable future.
The timing of the stall carries added weight because a White House ethics deal had injected $63 billion into the market as recently as July 21, making Monday’s retreat a meaningful reversal.
The weakness appears crypto-specific rather than broad-market in nature, with the S&P 500 closing Friday in positive territory while digital assets pulled back.
On the chart, $2.22 trillion has capped every market close since July 24, and a sustained break above that level would open the path toward $2.26 trillion and then $2.29 trillion.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs compounded the selling pressure, shedding $225.18 million on Thursday and $240.08 million on Friday, snapping an inflow streak that had been in place since July 14.
The two-session outflow totaled approximately $465 million, pulling total net ETF assets down to $77.82 billion from $80.94 billion, a drop of roughly $3.1 billion since July 21.
Institutional appetite for risk tends to soften near month-end when the regulatory framework remains unsettled, a dynamic that appears to be playing out in the current outflow data.
Monero (XMR) presented a contrasting technical story, trading near $351 after a 3.19% daily decline despite posting nearly 10% gains over the prior 30 days.
Analysts identified the pullback as the handle portion of a cup-and-handle pattern, with a rounded base forming in late June and the handle beginning around July 25.
Sell volume in XMR has thinned since July 17, suggesting buyers are absorbing available supply rather than exiting positions in a disorderly fashion.
The key technical sequence for XMR requires holding $349 support, then breaking $362 to clear the handle, clearing $369 as the neckline, and confirming the pattern above $376 with targets at $391 and $435.
A failure to hold $349 would instead point the token back toward the $298 base of the cup, representing the dividing line between a potential 27% breakout and a meaningful retracement.
