Bitcoin price retreats to $95K support zone as ETF inflows slow and market hype cools

Bitcoin price parted with all of its gains seen on Thursday as institutional demand for the token fell amid unease over a contentious U.S. cryptocurrency market structure bill.

Summary

• Bitcoin ETFs recorded a sharp drop in outflows over the past day.
• Crypto market sentiment fell as a major crypto legislation has stalled.
• A breakout from an ascending triangle pattern was confirmed on the daily chart.

According to data from SoSoValue, inflows into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs fell to $100.1 million on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, marking only a fraction of the $843.6 million in inflows recorded just a day earlier.

BlackRock’s IBIT led the lion’s share of inflows with $315.7 million entering the fund, while Grayscale’s BTC and Valkyrie’s BRRR managed to draw in a combined $9.7 million in inflows. Fidelity’s FBTC and Grayscale’s GBTC offset a large chunk of these inflows with outflows of $188.8 million and $36.4 million, respectively. 

The significant drop in demand from institutional investors followed after several executives, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, raised serious concerns about a Senate version of a highly anticipated crypto market structure bill that was due to be marked up on Thursday.

As previously reported by crypto.news, Armstrong had expressed deep apprehension regarding the bill’s restrictive language.

The backlash led the Senate Banking Committee to cancel the planned markup, citing that it needed more time to gain the necessary support to implement the measure. 

Just days earlier, the Senate Agriculture Committee had also postponed its markup planned for late January, citing similar regulatory friction. 

Concerns around key crypto regulations like this can often trigger sharp price declines while driving investor sentiment low. 

Following the delay, the crypto Fear and Greed Index fell back by 12 points to 49, indicating a return of neutral sentiment in the market just a day after it entered greed territory for the first time in months. 

This came as the Bitcoin rally, which saw the flagship crypto hit a two-month high this week, stalled as investors weighed the legislative stalemate. 

Bitcoin (BTC) rose 5% to an intraday high of $97,870 on Thursday, but has shed some of those gains. At press time, it was trading at $95,684.

Bitcoin price analysis

Despite the price drop seen today, Bitcoin charts presented an optimistic outlook for the asset. 

Notably, BTC price has confirmed a bullish pattern on the daily chart, which hints that the token has not yet lost its momentum.

On the daily chart, Bitcoin price has confirmed a breakout from an ascending triangle pattern. This is a classic bullish continuation structure which, when broken from the upper trendline, usually leads to significant further upside for an asset.

Momentum indicators like the MACD and RSI were 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.

Hence, Bitcoin is expected to maintain its bullish structure, especially if bulls can continue to defend the psychological support level at $95,000.

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