US enters a new technical shutdown: This is how the crypto market reacts to the budget impasse in Washington

The cryptocurrency market faces volatility following the start of a new government shutdown in the US. Bitcoin falls as investors assess the prolonged economic impact.

The United States federal government It began a partial shutdown on January 31, 2026, after the House of Representatives failed to vote on a key funding bill in time. 

Despite the Senate passing a $1,2 trillion package, inaction in the House has forced the suspension of operations in various federal agencies, plunging the digital asset market into a new phase of uncertainty. 

At the time of writing, Bitcoin and major altcoins have begun to reflect investor nervousness about the possibility of a prolonged market standstill. The market-leading cryptocurrency It's trading at around $78.000, a level not seen since April of last year. 

Bitcoin reacts negatively to the US government shutdown

The cryptocurrency market reacted cautiously and with a downward trend over the weekend. Bitcoin, already trading far from its all-time highs, showed heightened volatility as traders assess the risk of this...shutdown"The federal government shutdown was already factored into current prices." 

This new pause by the US government comes at a technically delicate moment for digital assets, which have seen their liquidity reduced due to the lack of macroeconomic clarity.

Amid this scenario, analyst Michaël van de Poppe he pointed that, although a shutdown This represents an additional risk—and Bitcoin's price could correct further from its current levels—and could also open the door to a bullish divergence between the cryptocurrency and traditional safe havens like silver. The specialist highlighted that, these days, both gold and the leading cryptocurrency are showing corrective movements driven by the same factors. a feeling of fear that dominates the markets.

However, amid this new shutdown, analysts also warn that the suspension of official economic data during the federal pause creates information gaps that often unsettle large funds. When the visibility of this data and the markets is reduced, institutional capital tends to seek refuge in more stable assets. Some members of the crypto community agreed with this assessment, noting that the current landscape resembles a darkened runway for investors.

So far, Bitcoin's price has corrected by about 5% in the last 24 hours, accumulating an 11% weekly drop. According to market data, the leading cryptocurrency is trading around $78.000 per unit, recovering slightly after having touched $77.600 per BTC.

Tensions in Washington are keeping the cryptocurrency market on edge.

Faced with this new paralysis, the memory of the 2025 government shutdown continues to weigh heavily on the market. Those forty days of paralysis caused a significant drop in the price of Bitcoin and much greater losses in various altcoins, which plummeted by as much as 25%. The lack of liquidity and the halt in regulatory activity reflected a system temporarily at a standstill. 

During that period, agencies such as the SEC and the CFTC suspended much of their operations, slowing the approval of cryptocurrency-linked financial products and leaving the market in a tense wait that only ended when Congress reached a new budget agreement. 

Now, the new shutdown threatens to reignite the same concerns. The White House describes it as an administrative matter that could be resolved soon, confident that the vote scheduled for Monday, February 2, will break the deadlock. Meanwhile, thousands of non-essential federal employees face unpaid leave and delayed paychecks, a reality already beginning to impact domestic consumption. If the standstill continues, it could affect the morale and spending decisions of many retail investors, a key pillar of the crypto market.

For the moment, analysts are maintaining a cautious calm. They are confident that the situation will not escalate to levels comparable to the shutdown from last year, although the most attentive operators continue to cautiously monitor every statement and every vote in Congress, aware of how quickly the balance can change.