MONETUM INTELLIGENCE | MIDDAY UPDATE
*Friday 18 September 2026 13:17 UTC*
Bitcoin spent the bulk of the London morning absorbing two significant macro shocks — the Fed's rate hike decision and the collapse of the Clarity Act — before staging a measured recovery toward the $78,100 handle. Price tested a local low in the $76,800 area during early European hours before buyers stepped in, establishing a higher low and reclaiming the $77,600 pivot that has acted as the session's structural anchor. Altcoins broadly followed suit, with HYPE leading the altcoin complex higher while SOL and XRP each printed regime-flip signals, suggesting capital rotation is underway below the surface. The SEC's approval of an innovation exemption for tokenized equities introduced a modest tailwind for sentiment, reinforcing the risk-on tilt heading into the NY handoff.