Bitcoin price surged through the $96,000 level this afternoon, decisively pushing above a key resistance zone and signaling a renewed wave of bullish momentum after weeks of choppy, range-bound trading.
At the time of writing, the bitcoin price is trading around $96,000, up about 4.4% over the past 24 hours, according to market data.
The breakout marks a clear move beyond the upper limit of the January consolidation area. Bitcoin price is now hovering near its weekly highs and is about 5% above its seven-day low near $91,700 as buyers regain control of the short-term market structure.
All this is happening as the US Senate Agriculture Committee has postponed its key markup of the Digital Asset Market Structure CLARITY Act until the end of January. The Senate Banking Committee is still scheduled for January 15th.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman announced a timeline for advancing crypto market structure legislation, with legislative text set for release by close of business on Wednesday, January 21, and a committee markup scheduled for Tuesday, January 27 at 10:00 p.m. 3 p.m
Boozman said the schedule is designed to ensure transparency and thorough review, while providing regulatory clarity for crypto markets and supporting consumer protections and American innovation.
The delay signals that Senate leaders may lack the votes to advance the bill amid disagreements over stablecoin rewards, DeFi oversight and SEC-CFTC authority.
Even if the House passed its version in mid-2025, the bill cannot move forward unless both Senate committees approve it.
Despite this, Bitcoin trading activity is rising alongside the price rally, with 24-hour volume rising to around $55 billion, reflecting renewed participation as the price accelerated higher.
Bitcoin’s total market capitalization has risen to approximately $1.92 trillion, reinforcing its dominance within the digital asset market. The circulating supply currently sits at just under 19.98 million BTC, which is closer to the protocol’s fixed 21 million coin cap.
Strategy ($MSTR) stock rises
Shares of Strategy (MSTR) also jumped sharply today to close at $172.99 USD, up 6.63% today, extending strength in after-hours trade up to $177.00, up +2 after hours, as investors continue to price in the company’s high-risk, bitcoin-linked strategy.
On January 12, Strategy announced that it added 13,627 bitcoin for $1.25 billion, bringing its total holdings to 687,410 BTC.
The purchases were made between January 5 and January 11 and funded through the company’s market offering program, which included the sale of Class A common stock ( MSTR ) and its 10.00% Series A perpetual preferred stock, Stretch ( STRC ).
Bitcoin price forecast
Tuesday’s rise follows several failed breakout attempts over the past few months, with bitcoin repeatedly testing resistance near the mid-$94,000 range before retreating.
For most of the past month, price action remained compressed between around $85,000 and $94,000, prompting analysts to warn that bulls needed a decisive move higher to regain control. That move now appears to be underway.
If the bitcoin price can maintain acceptance above $96,000, the next major resistance zones lie between $98,000 and $104,000, levels that previously reached upward momentum. However, a failure to hold current levels could see price pullbacks against previous resistance turned into potential support.
The breakout comes as investors continue to weigh inflation trends, interest rate expectations and escalating political uncertainty linked to US monetary policy.
On the political side, the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The investigation intensifies a months-long feud between the White House and the US central bank
According to Powell, the DOJ served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas and threatened a criminal indictment tied to his June 2025 testimony about a $2.5 billion plus renovation of Fed office buildings.
In recent months, the bitcoin price has increasingly traded in response to macro narratives, with many participants seeing it as a hedge against political instability and long-term currency depreciation.
At the time of publication, the bitcoin price is close to $96,000.