No Reaction From Crypto Markets as US Govt Shuts Down 

The United States government has shut down due to a failure to pass funding legislation, affecting many federal services and furloughing non-essential workers; however, essential services will continue.

Crypto markets appear to have taken this in their stride with very little movement in most digital assets over the past few hours. Total capitalization is holding on to the $4 trillion level, which it reclaimed earlier this week.

Bitcoin tapped an intraday high of $114,700 in late trading on Tuesday and has only dipped marginally from that local high at the time of writing. Ether prices revisited $4,200 but fell back over the past couple of hours to trade at $4,140 during trading in Asia on Wednesday morning. Most of the altcoins were seeing minor losses, which is nothing unusual.

Asian stock markets were mixed as investors focused on issues closer to home rather than US politics.

Why Has The US Govt Shut Down?

Both Republican and Democratic funding proposals failed in the Senate on Tuesday night, and the government officially shut down at 12:01 am Wednesday when funding expired.

In the political standoff, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Republicans of refusing to negotiate, while Vice President JD Vance blamed Democrats for not compromising. “I think we’re headed to a shutdown because the Democrats won’t do the right thing,” he said.

The Democrats are demanding changes to Medicaid cuts and healthcare tax credits that Republicans oppose, according to reports. The Senate plans to vote again on Wednesday on the same two failed measures, while federal agencies were instructed to execute orderly shutdown plans.

This could lead to a data blackout with no fresh labor or inflation reports, leaving the Federal Reserve flying blind. The move marks the 21st government shutdown since 1977, the last of which was in December 2018, lasting 35 days.

This was during the depths of “crypto winter” and the brutal bear market that followed the 2017 cycle peak. Crypto markets are currently in a bull cycle, and their non-reaction to the shutdown shows greater resilience and market maturity.

“Bitcoin and altcoins trade like high-beta assets, so a shutdown spike in volatility can hurt prices, but if it pushes the Fed toward a softer stance, that can later lift sentiment,” commented researcher ‘Hunt’.

Gold Up, Dollar Down

Gold, which is seen as a safe haven during periods of uncertainty, is at a new all-time high of $3,870 an ounce.

Meanwhile, the US dollar is hovering near a one-week low against other major currencies. The dollar index (DXY), which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, has slumped 12% since the beginning of this year as the world’s reserve currency continues to weaken.

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