The price of Bitcoin blasted past $86,000 on Monday, with the leading cryptocurrency rising nearly 7% over a 24-hour period — just six days after U.S. lawmakers blocked the Clarity Act, the long-awaited bill intended to establish clear rules for the digital asset industry.

The legislation's collapse has done little to slow buyers. Digital asset industry leaders had long called for clear rules to be put in place to regulate the fast-moving space, but the key legislation — the crypto market structure bill — failed to progress last week after Democrats mostly disagreed with the ethics side of the bill.

JUST IN: Bitcoin surges to $86,030 pic.twitter.com/3Z0RvIVvJ3 — Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) September 21, 2026

Bitcoin has shrugged off the bill's collapse. The leading cryptocurrency recently stood at $86,225 after touching an intraday high of $86,247 during Monday morning trading in New York. Over a 30-day period, the asset is up 10%.

The current rally began in August, when Bitcoin started a phenomenal run — its best in years — after the U.S. Treasury announced it would at least double the size of its liquidity-support buyback operations. The price gained further ground that same week after U.S. President Donald Trump hosted a meeting at the White House with crypto industry leaders and urged lawmakers to get what he called the "powerful" Clarity Act over the line.

Both Republicans and Democrats ultimately blocked the bill, though pro-crypto lawmakers had for months accused Democrats of deliberately trying to stall it. The central sticking point for Democratic lawmakers was the conflict of interest posed by the Trump family's crypto holdings. Beginning in the run-up to his return to office, the president and his sons launched a series of digital asset ventures, and Trump's own financial disclosure reported roughly $1.4 billion in crypto-related income. The White House says his assets sit in a trust managed by his children and that no conflict exists.

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, one of the crypto industry's loudest critics, told Congress ahead of the vote that the bill "posed a massive risk to families."

Despite the bill's failure to advance, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are pushing ahead with rulemaking. With the market structure bill stalled in Congress, that rulemaking now stands as the most immediate avenue through which U.S. digital asset rules could take shape — one to watch as the industry continues to seek the clarity the legislation would have provided.

U.S. Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded positive net flows last week after starting the week with investors cashing out of the products. On Thursday and Friday, investors bought nearly $593 million in shares of the ETFs managed by BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale, according to Farside Investors data. The products hold bitcoin directly and trade on U.S. stock exchanges, giving traditional investors exposure to the asset through ordinary brokerage accounts.

The Federal Reserve also raised interest rates last week — as expected — but Bitcoin's price hasn't been affected by the central bank's decision. Bitcoin has performed well in the past in a low interest rate environment.

This article first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and was written by Mathew Di Salvo.